The 1997 Ontario municipal elections were led in all municipalities across the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 on November 10, 1997, to elect mayors and reeves, councillors, and school trustees. There were also referendum questions in some municipalities.

The most closely watched contest was in the newly amalgamated city of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, where Mel Lastman

Mel Lastman

Melvin Douglas "Mel" Lastman , nicknamed "Mayor Mel", is a former businessman and politician. He is the founder of the Bad Boy Furniture chain. He served as the mayor of the former city of North York, Ontario, Canada from 1972 until 1997. At the end of 1997, North York, along with five other...

 narrowly defeated Barbara Hall

Barbara Hall

Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997...

 to win the mayoralty. In other results, Hazel McCallion

Hazel McCallion

Hazel McCallion, née Joueneaux, CM is the mayor of Mississauga, Ontario. McCallion has been Mississauga's mayor for years, holding office since 1978...

 was re-elected in Mississauga

Mississauga, Ontario

Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...

, Bob Morrow

Bob Morrow

Robert Maxwell Morrow UE is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Hamilton, Ontario from 1982 to 2000. He was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history....

 was returned in Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, and Dianne Haskett

Dianne Haskett

Dianne Louise Haskett was mayor of London, Ontario, Canada, from 1994 to 2000. She served two, three-year mayoral terms, making a priority of downtown revitalization, heritage preservation, economic development, neighbourhood protection, protecting the environment, international relations, trade...

 was elected in London

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

.

Lakefield

1997 Lakefield election, Reeve of Lakefield

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Bob Helsing	663	89.23
Bill Wellman	80	10.77
Total valid votes	743	100.00

1997 Lakefield election, Deputy Reeve of Lakefield

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Mary Smith	accl.	.

Source: Bill Hodgins, "Battle on for Lakefield pair," Peterborough Examiner, 6 November 2000, B3.