The 1997 Toronto municipal election was the first election held for offices in the amalgamated "

megacity A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report defines megacities as urban a ...

" of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. The elections were administered by the old City of Toronto and its five suburbs within

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

. The vote was held November 10, 1997, electing the mayor and 56 councillors in 28 wards who took office on January 1, 1998, the day of the amalgamation. The election resulted in a showdown between two incumbent mayors of cities being dissolved into the megacity: Barbara Hall, the one-term mayor of the old city of Toronto, and

Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and the 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to s ...

, who had been mayor of the suburban city

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

for 25 years. Both candidates were

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, but Hall was a prior member of the left-of-centre

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

and Lastman of the right-of-centre

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...

. Lastman was additionally well-known as pitchman for his family-owned Bad Boy furniture and appliance stores.

Mayor

The mayoral race saw incumbents from the two largest former cities run to be mayor, the left-leaning Barbara Hall and the right-leaning

. Lastman won the election by a narrow margin, around 40,000 votes.

Council

The election followed a

plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

system where electors could vote for two candidates. Each of the 28 wards elected two councillors. ;Ward 1 –

East York East York is a district and former municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The borough was dissolved ...

: Michael Prue – 22440 : Case Ootes – 8608 : Jane Pitfield – 6926 :Michael Tziretas – 6349 : Elizabeth Rowley – 5707 :Bob Dale – 4709 :George Vasilopoulos – 4275 :Paul Fernandes – 3156 :Paul Robinson – 2885 :Hortencia Fotopoulos – 663 :Edward Wigglesworth – 368 ;Ward 2 – Lakeshore Queensway : Irene Jones – 9387 : Blake Kinahan – 7788 : Peter Milczyn – 7127 :Jeff Knoll – 6877 :Connie Micallef – 5179 :Diethar Lein – 4396 :David Smith – 2286 :Joe Connell – 713 :George Kash – 409 ;Ward 3 – Kingsway Humber : Gloria Lindsay Luby – 13123 : Mario Giansante – 12767 : Dennis Flynn – 10092 :

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

– 9366 :Adam Slobodian – 797 :Ben Cachola – 753 ;Ward 4 – Markland Centennial : Doug Holyday – 15430 : Dick O'Brien – 10410 :Agnes Ugolini Potts – 9650 :Brian Flynn – 6809 :Steve Deighton – 3974 :Helen Bodanis – 799 :Mark Stanisz – 507 :Daphne Gabriel – 413 :Alexander P. Masur – 279 ;Ward 5 –

Rexdale Rexdale is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north-west of the central core, in the district of Etobicoke. Rexdale defines an area of several official neighbourhoods north of Highway 401 and east of Highway 427. Rexdale was ori ...

Thistletown : Elizabeth Brown – 6546 : Bruce Sinclair – 6482 :Vincent Crisanti – 3540 :John Kiru – 3203 :Marco Luciani – 2847 :Carmela Sasso – 2244 :Brian Ineson – 2135 :Nicolo Fortunato – 1925 :Peter Kell – 1240 :Anthony Caputo – 1133 :Patrick McCool – 1045 :Rosemarie Mulhall – 413 ;Ward 6 – North York Humber : Judy Sgro – 14334 : George Mammoliti – 10226 :Gina Serverino – 6875 :Tony Marzilli – 5205 :Bob Churchhill – 5012 :Michael Marson – 722 ;Ward 7 – Black Creek *Anna Stella is a longtime community activist in the Black Creek area of Toronto. She applied to replace Anthony Perruzza as North York's fifth ward councillor in 1990, after Perruzza was elected to the provincial legislature and council decided to nominate an interim replacement rather than hold a by-election. She was turned down in favour of Claudio Polsinelli. Stella was later elected to the Metro Toronto Separate School Board in the 1994 municipal election, easily defeating four other candidates in Ward Twelve. She supported greater parental involvement in school affairs and a zero-tolerance policy toward violence, although she opposed

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

's policy of expulsion. In the 1997 election, she was endorsed by

Art Eggleton Arthur C. Eggleton (born September 29, 1943) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served ...

and Annamarie Castrilli. *Jeanelle Julien was a first-time candidate. ;Ward 8 – North York Spadina *Henry Braverman was a first-time candidate. *Nickeisha Hudson was a student trustee in 1997, and was awarded a Harry Jerome Award for leadership. She was a first-time candidate. In 1999, she was a youth events coordinator in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. *Dzeko is a businessman in Toronto. He was a first-time candidate. ;Ward 9 – North York Centre South : Joanne Flint – 16447 : Milton Berger – 12370 :Dick Chapman – 8484 :Stuart Ian Weinstein – 3740 ;Ward 10 – North York Centre : John Filion – 17533 : Norman Gardner – 15135 :Ron Summers – 11212 ;Ward 11 – Don Parkway :

Gordon Chong Gordon Joseph Chong (October 28, 1943 – July 13, 2018) was a Canadian politician and public servant active in Toronto. He served as a Toronto City Councillor, Toronto city councillor and was vice-chairman of the Toronto Transit Commission in th ...

– 11961 : Denzil Minnan-Wong – 11001 :Don Yuill – 10450 :Kim Scott – 4742 :Allen Scott – 4369 :Janaki Bala-Krishan – 2901 :Neil Milson – 684 :Christopher M. Beale – 653 :Dixon Rhamadeen – 380 ;Ward 12 – Seneca Heights : Joan King – 18471 : David Shiner – 18319 :Raffi Assadourian – 5151 :Joel Ginsberg – 3345 :Bernadette Michael – 2938 ; Ward 13 – Scarborough Bluffs : Brian Ashton – 15528 : Gerry Altobello – 12605 :Fred Johnston – 11265 :Gaye Dale – 6491 :Karin Eaton – 4670 :Ed Green – 931 ;Ward 14 – Scarborough Wexford :

Norm Kelly Norman Kelly (born August 11, 1941) is a retired Canadian politician. He represented Ward 22 Scarborough—Agincourt, Ward 40 Scarborough—Agincourt from 2000 to 2018 and served as Deputy Mayor of Toronto, deputy mayor of Toronto from 2013 to ...

– 13740 : Mike Tzekas – 12318 :Aris Babikian – 3644 :Gerry Leonard – 2366 :George Pornaras – 2024 ;Ward 15 – Scarborough City Centre : Brad Duguid – 15686 : Lorenzo Berardinetti – 14179 :Paul Mushinski – 9141 :Betty Hackett – 4579 :Russell Worrick – 3882 :Ron Hartung – 743 ;Ward 16 – Scarborough Highland Creek : Frank Faubert – 15062 : Ron Moeser – 13955 : David Soknacki – 12183 :Chris Braney – 7142 ; Ward 17 – Scarborough Agincourt : Sherene Shaw – 10634 : Doug Mahood – 9861 :Wayne Cook – 5631 :Jeff Mark – 4909 :Doug Hum – 4645 ;Ward 18 – Scarborough Malvern : Raymond Cho – 11190 : Bas Balkissoon – 10745 :Edith Montgomery – 10659 :Jim Mackey – 2621 :Terry Singh – 1812 :Sinna Chelliah – 1165 :Jasmine Singh – 871 :Arlanna Lewis – 666 :George B. Singh – 339 ;Ward 19 – High Park *Connie Dejak is a longtime administrator at Runnymede Chronic Care Hospital. As of 2006, she is the hospital's president and chief executive officer. When a reviewing committee appointed by the

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

provincial government decided to close Runnymede in 1997, she organized the hospital's successful challenge against the decision. Dejak is also a community activist, and has served on a police liaison committee for her neighbourhood. She and David Miller were endorsed by the ''Toronto Star'' newspaper in the 1997 campaign. She later sought an appointment to the Toronto Police Serves Board in 1999, but was passed over in favour of Alan Heisey. In the 2003 mayoral contest, she supported John Nunziata. Dejak is a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, and there are reports that she considered running for the party in a 2006 provincial by-election in Parkdale—High Park. *Ed Hooven has a PhD in Sociology, and is currently an assistant professor at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. His formal biographical sketch indicates that his past works have focused on European integration, the post-war Japanese economy and North American free trade agreements. His current work focused on the

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...

and "judicial activism". He has contributed a chapter to "Canada and the New Economic Order", entitled "The New World Order: In a New Millennium". Hooven has called for governments to distinguish between the "deserving" and "undeserving" when determining policies on social assistance. He has written against

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as leading to "creeping moral relativism", and has also criticized the powers of the Canadian judiciary. He has accused

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

s of seeking to destroy the

nuclear family A nuclear family (also known as an elementary family, atomic family, or conjugal family) is a term for a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single ...

. Hooven has been active with the

, and was research director for the Republican candidate for governor in the 1998 New Hampshire state elections. He is a member of Republicans Abroad Canada. He also plays guitar in the

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Big Band Ensemble. *Walter Melnyk was a teacher in

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

, and later worked in sales."The candidates", ''Toronto Star'', November 11, 1988, A14. He was a member of the Metro Toronto Separate School Board from 1980 to 1988. He was first elected in the 1980 municipal election, defeating incumbent trustee Edward Boehler in the city's first ward. During this campaign, he called for better services for graduating elementary students entering the public school system. In 1984, he brought forward a motion to provide medical services for students afflicted by poor environmental conditions in Toronto's Junction Triangle. Melnyk also promoted mandatory physical education programs. In January 1988, he brought forward a motion criticizing existing practices on the Separate School Board, suggesting that the board consider breaking itself up into regional bodies. He argued that the board was dominated by a secretive "old guard", who often reduced other trustees to the role of passive spectators. The board rejected his motion. Melnyk also called for non-Catholics to be allowed into Catholic schools. He was defeated by Barbara Poplowski in the 1988 municipal election; a newspaper article from the campaign lists him as thirty-nine years old. After the election, he was appointed as a school representative on the Toronto Board of Health. He campaigned for a seat on the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, promising to introduce a taxpayers' bill of rights. He narrowly lost to

incumbent Rob Maxwell in the eleventh ward. Melnyk was later banned from running in the 1994 municipal election, after failing to file a financial statement for his 1991 campaign. He worked as the campaign manager for city council candidate Alex Chumak, but was forced to leave this campaign amid controversy. Chumak informed the media that Melnyk had offered a rival candidate a position on the Toronto Board of Health in return for leaving the race; Melnyk said that he did nothing wrong."Trustee candidate charged with fraud", ''Toronto Star'', November 12, 1994, A4. Melnyk ran for a position on the new city council in 1997, and was defeated. He tried to return to the Separate School Board (now renamed as the Toronto Catholic District School Board) in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, but lost to Barbara Poplowski for a second time. ;Ward 20 – Trinity Niagara : Joe Pantalone – 11031 : Mario Silva – 10252 : Martin Silva – 8329 :Joe Magalhaes – 4035 ;Ward 21 – Davenport : Betty Disero – 10747 : Dennis Fotinos – 7587 : Rob Maxwell – 6858 :John Doherty – 5096 :Tony Letra – 4788 :Dale Ritch – 1111 :Jennifer Bauer – 1049 ;Ward 22 –

North Toronto North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890 by consolidating the villages of Bedford Park, Eglinton and Davisville. The town was annexed by Toronto ...

: Anne Johnston – 17123 : Michael Walker – 16449 : Kay Gardner – 15275 :Linda Sparling – 8235 :David N. Coleman – 1525 :John Ringer – 665 ;Ward 23 – Midtown :

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

– 12010 : Ila Bossons – 11553 : Howard Joy – 10651 :Brian Mayes – 8659 :Howard Levine – 6167 :David Vallance – 2112 :Blair Gray – 622 :Philip Charles – 427 ;Ward 24 – Downtown : Olivia Chow – 20453 : Kyle Rae – 16149 :Al Carbone – 5186 :Paul Hogan – 2319 :Rosie Schwartz – 2001 :Doug Lowry – 1615 :Charlene Cottle – 864 :Roberto Verdecchia – 787 :Carmin Priolo – 398 ;Ward 25 – Don River :

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

– 15045 : Pam McConnell – 8359 :

Peter Tabuns Peter Charles Tabuns (born October 3, 1951) is a Canadian politician who served as the interim leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontario), leader of the Official Opposition from 2022 to 2023. ...

– 8141 :Soo Wong – 7212 :Spiros Papathanasakis – 6590 :Terry Brackett – 1546 :Mike Armstrong – 1429 :Wendy Forrest – 947 :Larry Tabin – 939 ;Ward 26 – East Toronto : Tom Jakobek – 14945 : Sandra Bussin – 13323 : Paul Christie – 12883 :Steve Ellis – 11649 :Bruce Bryce – 643 ;Ward 27 – York Humber : Frances Nunziata – 14354 : Bill Saundercook – 6295 :Michael McDonald – 5245 :Randy Leach – 4837 :Carl Miller – 4684 :Stan Kumorek – 1535 :Natalie Wall – 661 :Arthur Saverino – 540 :Paul Jewett – 268 ;Ward 28 – York Eglinton : Joe Mihevc – 7548 : Rob Davis – 6660 : Caroline DiGiovanni – 5989 : Tony Rizzo – 5538 :Joan Roberts – 4077 :Chai Kalevar – 912

References

{{Toronto elections

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1997 Ontario municipal elections 1997 in Toronto