Michael C. Feldman (December 29, 1927 – May 10, 2023) was a Canadian politician in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

. He was a municipal councillor from 1992 to 2010, and served as

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

from 2003 to 2006.

Background

Before entering municipal politics, Feldman was a businessman who founded Teela Data Management, a company specializing in real estate information, which was sold to Moore Corporation Ltd. in 1982. He retired from business in 1988. Feldman served as president of the Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue and of the Ontario Region of the United Synagogue of America, the central organization of

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s in

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

. He was active with the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. Feldman and his wife, Sue, had three children. He died on May 10, 2023, at the age of 95.

Politics

Feldman was elected in 1992 in a by-election to

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 ...

council to replace longtime councillor Irv Chapley who had died in office early in the year. In addition to his job as a municipal councillor, he served as chair of the Metro Housing Development Corporation, a

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

agency serving the second-tier

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 ...

. In 1997 he was elected to the newly amalgamated

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 ...

. Feldman was a longtime supporter of

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 ...

, the generally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

mayor first of North York, then of the merged Toronto until 2003. In that year's municipal election, Feldman supported

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...

, a moderate conservative, for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. When David Miller, a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, was elected, one of his first appointments was to name Feldman one of his three Deputy Mayors, jointly with Joe Pantalone and Sandra Bussin. Along with the appointment of fellow councillor David Soknacki as budget chief, Feldman’s appointment was seen as a key outreach to conservatives on the new mayor’s part. The

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

newspaper ‘’ Now‘’ magazine wrote that “Miller has long respected Feldman’s financial acumen and his commitment to neighbourhood issues. The retired business executive is a straight-shooting conservative who can get along with both sides at council and give North York a high-profile voice at City Hall.”Now magazine 27 November 2003
After the 2006 election, Miller appointed a single deputy mayor, Pantalone. In 2009, Feldman joined the Responsible Government Group, a conservative caucus seen as an unofficial opposition to Miller and the centre-left majority of council.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Mike 1927 births 2023 deaths Businesspeople from Toronto Jewish Canadian politicians Toronto city councillors 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors Deputy mayors of places in Canada