Each month, in the run-up to Toronto’s municipal election on October 27, the Torontoist has profiled one of the 64 people who served as Mayor of Toronto — “people who shaped the city, displayed colourful personalities, or managed to do both.”
Each profile provides a sense of the key issues in the city (that may have affected our ancestors) and a glimpse of the time period.
For example, Tommy Church, mayor from 1915 to 1921, never met a hand he wouldn’t shake. “His support for soldiers fighting in the First World War comforted many families. When any troops shipped out of Union Station, Church saw them off. ‘For many soldiers,’ historian Donald Jones noted, ‘the last thing they remembered about Toronto was the sight of their mayor running beside the train shouting goodbye and wishing them good luck.’ He was also there to welcome the soldiers back. He called families upon hearing of fatalities and asked if he could help. He successfully urged city council to insure every enlisted man from Toronto for $1,000 each. From these actions arose Church’s nickname, ‘The Soldiers’ Friend.'”
Rev. J.D. Morrow and Mayor Tommy Church recruiting, 1916. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 721A.
Since the Torontoist only had a chance to profile five mayors, I hope they continue the series after the election and perhaps focus on some of the earlier mayors.
Click on the names below to read their story.
Tommy Church — 1915 – 1921.
Bert Wemp — 1930.
Allan Lamport — 1952 – 1954.
Nathan Phillips — 1955 – 1962.
William Dennison — 1967 – 1972.
The Torontoist was established in 2004 as part of the thirteen-city Gothamist network and is now published by St. Joseph Media. According to its website, the Torontoist has become the “largest, most influential, and most widely-read website of its kind in Canada.” It is partners with the Globe and Mail. The Torontoist’s goal is “to capture the tenor and texture of life in Toronto, to evoke the daily experience of the city in words and images.”
