1956 Toronto municipal election explained

Election Name:	1956 Toronto mayoral election
Country:	Toronto
Type:	Mayoral
Ongoing:	no
Party Name:	no
Previous Election:	1955 Toronto municipal election
Previous Year:	1955
Election Date:	December 3, 1956
Next Election:	1958 Toronto municipal election
Next Year:	1958
Candidate1:	Nathan Phillips
Popular Vote1:	80,352
Percentage1:	89.1%
Image1:	File:Mayor Nathan Phillips wearing chain of office (cropped).jpg
Candidate2:	Ross Dowson
Popular Vote2:	9,834
Percentage2:	10.9%
Mayor of Toronto
Before Election:	Nathan Phillips
After Election:	Nathan Phillips

Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on December 3, 1956. Incumbent mayor Nathan Phillips was easily reelected. Jean Newman became the first woman elected to the Board of Control, and topped the poll to become budget chief.

Toronto mayor

Nathan Phillips, elected two years earlier, faced only limited opposition from Trotskyist Ross Dowson and was easily reelected.

Results

Nathan Phillips - 80,352

Ross Dowson - 9,834

Board of Control

All four sitting Board of Control members chose to run for re-election. Controller and former mayor Leslie Saunders was pushed off the board by Jean Newman's victory. Newman is the first woman to be elected to the Board of Control or to win a city-wide election in Toronto. The most senior two Controllers in terms of votes also sat on Metro Toronto Council.

Results

Jean Newman - 54,785

Ford Brand (incumbent) - 54,178

William Allen (incumbent) - 54,038

Joseph Cornish (incumbent) - 49,385

Leslie Saunders (incumbent) - 47,048

Harry Bradley - 16,450

Charles Sims - 6961

George Rolland - 5,632

City council

Two aldermen were elected per Ward. The alderman with the most votes was declared Senior Alderman and sat on both Toronto City Council and Metro Council.

Ward 1 (Riverdale)

Ken Waters (incumbent) - 6,318

Fred Beavis - 3,636

Jean Brown - 3,412

George Phillips (incumbent) - 2,578

Dominic Di Stasi - 1,657

Basil Ingleby - 494

Ward 2 (Regent Park and Rosedale)

William Dennison (incumbent) - 4,962

May Birchard - 2,614

Sterling Campbell - 2,567

Edgar Roxborough (incumbent) - 2,380

Andrew Kavanaugh - 569

Philip Rowley - 528

Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill)

Ross Parry (incumbent) - 4,149

John MacVicar - 1,980

Richard James - 2,537

Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District)

Herbert Orliffe (incumbent) - 4,437

Francis Chambers (incumbent) - 3,449

David Rotenberg - 2,692

Dorothy Cureatz - 628

Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods and Little Italy)

Philip Givens (incumbent) - 6,226

Harold Menzies (incumbent) - 5,177

Ben Nobleman - 1,500

Paul Pauk - 1,092

Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale)

May Robinson (incumbent) - 8,691

Frank Clifton (incumbent) - 7,171

William Stevens - 3,884

Wallace Martin - 2,066

John Shedden - 1,795

George Jackson - 1,498

Ward 7 (Bloor West Village)

William Davidson (incumbent) - 5,122

John Kucherepa (incumbent) - 5,069

Thomas Wilson - 1,548

Stewart - 1,077

William Repka - 579

Ward 8 (The Beaches)

Donald Summerville (incumbent) - 12,567

Albert G. Cranham (incumbent) - 9,577

Chris Stavro - 2,488

John Square - 1,146

Ward 9 (North Toronto)

Frank Nash (incumbent) - 12,084

Kenneth Ostrander - 10,515

Alex Thompson - 8,064

Results are taken from the December 4, 1956 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.

Changes

Ward 7 Alderman John Kucherepa resigned January 6, 1958 having been elected in the 1957 Federal Election; Thomas Wilson was appointed replacement on January 20.