Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 2, 1950. This was the last time election were held in January, as a ballot measure passed changing the election date to the first Monday in December. This attempt to increase turnout went into effect immediately and an election was held December 4, 1950. The central issue of the campaign was whether to legalize sport on Sundays, with Controller Allan Lamport the main proponent. A referendum was held on the subject, and it passed by a slim margin.
Toronto mayor Incumbent Hiram E. McCallum easily won reelection against two minor candidates, former police officer Charles Mahoney and Trotskyist Ross Dowson.Appeal to Voters: Rid City Hall of Commies: Mayor The Globe and Mail (1936-); Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]. 10 Dec 1949: 4.
Results Hiram E. McCallum – 133,320 Charles H. Mahoney – 19,658 Ross Dowson – 15,600
Board of Control All sitting members of the Board of Control chose to run for reelection. Alderman Louis Shannon attempted to win a seat, but finished fifth.
Results John Innes (incumbent) – 96,139 Leslie Saunders (incumbent) – 87,799 David Balfour (incumbent) – 78,090 Allan Lamport (incumbent) – 72,436 Louis Shannon – 72,059 Stewart Smith – 45,251 Harry Bradley- 21,719 Frederick Vacher – 9,850
City council
Ward 1 (Riverdale) John McMechan (incumbent) – 9,328 William Allen – 8,512 Kenneth Waters – 8,060 Roy Cadwell – 3,299 Harry Marley – 2,263
Ward 2 (Cabbagetown and Rosedale) Joseph Cornish – 6,237 Beverley Sparling – 5,642 May Birchard – 5,560 Sylvester Perry – 2,064 William MacKenzie – 1,422 Harold West – 692
Ward 3 (West Downtown and Summerhill) Harold Fishleigh (incumbent) – acclaimed Howard Phillips (incumbent) – acclaimed
Ward 4 (The Annex, Kensington Market and Garment District) Nathan Phillips (incumbent) – 7,941 Norman Freed (incumbent) – 6,553 Francis Chambers – 6,319 Alfred Whiskin – 649 Francis Love – 648
Ward 5 (Trinity-Bellwoods) Joseph Gould – 10,252 Arthur Frost (incumbent) – 10,110 Charles Sims (incumbent) – 8,462 Pat McKeown – 1,086
Ward 6 (Davenport and Parkdale) George Granell (incumbent) – 15,029 Lester Nelson – 8,299 William Duckworth – 7,971 Robert Colucci – 7,573 Dewar Ferguson – 5,596 Harry Branscombe – 3,720
Ward 7 (West Toronto Junction) William Davidson – 8,727 Alfred Cowling (incumbent) – 8,005 David Sanderson – 5,989
Ward 8 (The Beaches) Ross Lipsett – 13,686 W.H. Collings (incumbent) – 12,174 Roy Mealing (incumbent) – 9,560 Maurice Punshon – 3,646 William Probert – 3,040 John Square – 968
Ward 9 (North Toronto) Frank Nash (incumbent) – 15,677 Roy E. Belyea (incumbent) – 15,486 William Mitchell – 10,542
Results taken from the January 3, 1950 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
References
Election Coverage. Toronto Star. January 3, 1950