Toronto municipal election, 1939
Encyclopedia
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Canada, on January 2, 1939. Incumbent Ralph Day
was re-elected mayor over former lawyer Lewis Duncan
.
entered the race. Day but won by a significant margin in a high turnout race.
Results
incumbents were reelected despite a group of high profile challengers. Closest to winning a seat was Alderman William Croft
in fifth place. In sixth place was communist Tim Buck
and in seventh Alderman Robert Hood Saunders
. Finishing surprisingly far back in seventh was former mayor William D. Robbins
.
Neither were successful as all four incumbents were reelected.
Results
)
Ward 2 (Cabbagetown
and Rosedale
)
Ward 3 (Central Business District
)
Ward 4 (The Annex
, Kensington Market
and Garment District)
Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods
Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale
)
Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction)
Ward 8 (The Beaches
)
Ward 9 (North Toronto
)
Results taken from the January 3, 1939 Globe and Mail and might not exactly match final tallies.
Ralph Day
Ralph C. Day was Mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1938 to 1940. He was also an accomplished funeral director, owning his own funeral home. He also served as chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in the 1960s and 1970s....
was re-elected mayor over former lawyer Lewis Duncan
Lewis Duncan
James Lewis Duncan was a Canadian politician and lawyer.Duncan was the son of a physician and grandson of a Presbyterian minister. He studied at the University of Toronto and in Paris and won a silver medal as a student at Osgoode Hall Law School.He fought in World War I at the Somme, Vimy Ridge...
.
Toronto mayor
Day was expected to be acclaimed, but in December lawyer and Liberal Lewis DuncanLewis Duncan
James Lewis Duncan was a Canadian politician and lawyer.Duncan was the son of a physician and grandson of a Presbyterian minister. He studied at the University of Toronto and in Paris and won a silver medal as a student at Osgoode Hall Law School.He fought in World War I at the Somme, Vimy Ridge...
entered the race. Day but won by a significant margin in a high turnout race.
Results
- Ralph DayRalph DayRalph C. Day was Mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1938 to 1940. He was also an accomplished funeral director, owning his own funeral home. He also served as chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in the 1960s and 1970s....
- 93,060 - Lewis DuncanLewis DuncanJames Lewis Duncan was a Canadian politician and lawyer.Duncan was the son of a physician and grandson of a Presbyterian minister. He studied at the University of Toronto and in Paris and won a silver medal as a student at Osgoode Hall Law School.He fought in World War I at the Somme, Vimy Ridge...
- 53,364
Board of Control
All four Board of ControlToronto Board of Control
Toronto Board of Control was a part of the municipal government of Toronto, Canada from 1904 until its abolition in 1969 and served as the executive committee of Toronto City Council. It consisted of four councillors elected city wide and was presided over by the mayor. Each voter could vote for up...
incumbents were reelected despite a group of high profile challengers. Closest to winning a seat was Alderman William Croft
William Croft
William Croft was an English composer and organist.Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal, under the instruction of John Blow, and remained there until 1698. Two years after this departure, he became organist of St. Anne's Church, Soho...
in fifth place. In sixth place was communist Tim Buck
Tim Buck
Timothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
and in seventh Alderman Robert Hood Saunders
Robert Hood Saunders
Robert Hood Saunders, Q.C., CBE was mayor of Toronto from 1945 to 1948, President of the Canadian National Exhibition, chairman of the Ontario Hydro ....
. Finishing surprisingly far back in seventh was former mayor William D. Robbins
William D. Robbins
William Dullam Robbins was the 45th Mayor of Toronto from 1936 to 1937. He was appointed mayor after the death of incumbent Sam McBride and remained in office until defeated by Ralph Day in the 1937 elections. Robbins was considered a representative of labour in Toronto city politics, but was also...
.
Neither were successful as all four incumbents were reelected.
Results
- Frederick J. ConboyFrederick J. ConboyFrederick Joseph Conboy was a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Toronto, Ontario from 1941 to 1944....
(incumbent) - 80,720 - Douglas McNish (incumbent) - 73,252
- Fred Hamilton (incumbent) - 54,516
- William J. WadsworthWilliam J. WadsworthWilliam J. Wadsworth was a long serving municipal politician in Toronto, Canada.He was born in Flesherton, Ontario and migrated to Toronto his family moved to the West Toronto Junction while he was still a youth...
(incumbent) - 49,446 - William Croft - 48,798
- Tim BuckTim BuckTimothy "Tim" Buck was a long-time leader of the Communist Party of Canada...
- 43,112 - Robert Hood SaundersRobert Hood SaundersRobert Hood Saunders, Q.C., CBE was mayor of Toronto from 1945 to 1948, President of the Canadian National Exhibition, chairman of the Ontario Hydro ....
- 40,973 - William D. RobbinsWilliam D. RobbinsWilliam Dullam Robbins was the 45th Mayor of Toronto from 1936 to 1937. He was appointed mayor after the death of incumbent Sam McBride and remained in office until defeated by Ralph Day in the 1937 elections. Robbins was considered a representative of labour in Toronto city politics, but was also...
- 24,745 - Harry Bradley - 3,489
City council
Ward 1 (RiverdaleRiverdale, Toronto
Riverdale is a large neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by the Don River Valley to the west, Danforth Avenue and Greektown to the north, Jones Avenue, the CN/GO tracks, and Leslieville to the east, and Lake Shore Boulevard to the south....
)
- Gordon MillenGordon MillenGordon Millen was a politician from Toronto, Canada. He served several years on city council before being elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament....
(incumbent) - 9,583 - Frank M. Johnston (incumbent) - 8,464
- Charles Minett - 4,374
- Fred Kantel - 3,063
- John Francis Hughes - 1,414
- Samuel Kirk - 735
Ward 2 (Cabbagetown
Cabbagetown, Toronto
Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood located on the east side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America", according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association....
and Rosedale
Rosedale, Toronto
Rosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....
)
- Adelaide PlumptreAdelaide PlumptreAdelaide Wilson Plumptre was a Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto.She was born Adelaide Proctor in Surrey, England and studied at Somerville College, Oxford University. There she met and married H.P. Plumtree, the vice-principal of the theological college...
(incumbent) - 6,563 - Louis ShannonLouis ShannonJ. Louis Shannon was a municipal politician in Toronto, Canada who served for many years on Toronto City Council and the Toronto Board of Control....
(incumbent) - 5,829 - George A. Wilson - 4,184
- D.J. Shannon - 1,434
- Matthew C. Wilson - 615
- Bob King - 541
- Alfred Gagne - 536
- Aaron Newton - 367
Ward 3 (Central Business District
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
)
- John S. Simmons (incumbent) - 5,325
- Percy QuinnPercy QuinnJohn Purcell Quinn was a Canadian athlete, businessman, sports promoter and politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the owner and president of the Toronto Blueshirts, winners of the Stanley Cup in 1914. He was a member of the world champion Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse team in 1896...
(incumbent) - 5,202 - Jean Laing - 1,604
Ward 4 (The Annex
The Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road...
, Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
and Garment District)
- Nathan PhillipsNathan Phillips (politician)Nathan Phillips, KC was a Canadian politician and popular Mayor of Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in Brockville, Ontario, the son of Jacob Phillips and Mary Rosenbloom, he was educated in public and high schools in Cornwall. In 1908, he articled with the Cornwall lawyer, Robert Smith, who later...
(incumbent) - 7,230 - David A. BalfourDavid A. BalfourDavid A. Balfour was a municipal politician in Toronto, Canada. He was active in civic politics from 1939 until 1955. This included twelve years on the Board of Control, a longer service than anyone prior....
- 6,339 - J.B. Salsberg (incumbent) - 5,830
- Joseph Stewart - 1,216
Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods
- Ernest Bogart (incumbent) - 10,506
- Stewart SmithStewart Smith (politician)Stewart Smith was a long-time leading member of the Communist Party of Canada. He also served on Toronto City Council for a period in the 1930s and 1940s....
(incumbent) - 8,121 - Charles Ward - 6,519
- Pat V. Roach - 2,943
- Jacob Romer - 1,384
- Frederick Cottrell - 697
Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale
Parkdale, Toronto
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Queen Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario...
)
- William V. Muir - 11,163
- D.C. MacGregor (incumbent) - 10,319
- George Grannell (incumbent) - 8,922
- Neil Cameron - 7,878
- Richard Jones - 1,384
- William Logie - 1,166
- Joseph King - 544
Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction)
- Charles Rowntree (incumbent) - 8,901
- H.M. Davy - 7,140
- Harold Clarke - 1,858
- John Whetton - 1,548
Ward 8 (The Beaches
The Beaches
The Beaches is a neighbourhood and popular tourist destination located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the east side of the "Old" City of Toronto. The original boundaries of the neighbourhood are from Fallingbrook Avenue on the east to Kingston Road on the north, to Woodbine Avenue...
)
- Ernest Bray (incumbent) - 13,175
- Walter Howell (incumbent) - 10,094
- Ernest Woollon - 7,104
- Gifford Baker - 2,309
Ward 9 (North Toronto
North Toronto
North Toronto was a town located in the northern part of the Old Toronto district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It occupies a geographically central location within the current boundaries of the city of Toronto. It is a relatively narrow strip, centred around Yonge Street; it extends from the CP...
)
- Donald Fleming - 11,340
- John InnesJohn Innes (politician)John Innes was a municipal politician in Toronto, Canada. He was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in around 1900 when he was in his twenties. A carpenter by trade he built a home in on Merton Street in North Toronto. He then became a developer, building several other homes around the area...
- 10,134 - William D. Ellis (incumbent) - 7,982
- Basil Donnelly - 3,195
Results taken from the January 3, 1939 Globe and Mail and might not exactly match final tallies.