Leslie Saunders
Leslie Howard Saunders | |
---|---|
Allan Lamport | |
Succeeded by | Nathan Phillips |
3rd Mayor of East York | |
In office 1976–1976 | |
Preceded by | Willis Blair |
Succeeded by | Alan Redway |
Personal details | |
Born | Scarborough, Canada | March 30, 1899
Political party | Progressive Conservative |
Occupation | Business manager |
Leslie Howard Saunders (September 12, 1899 – March 30, 1994)[1] was Mayor of Toronto, Canada, from 1954 to 1955 and the last member of the Orange Order to hold the position until William Dennison. He also served as Mayor of East York in 1976.
Early life
Saunders was born in London, England and immigrated with his family to
Political career
A staunch
The council that Saunders joined was dominated by the Orange Order. 16 out of 23 members were Orangemen. Saunders was considerably more radical in his Orangeism than his fellows. He at times refused to stand for "
Saunders was chairman of the city committee which established Regent Park as Canada's first public housing project.[1]
In 1945, Saunders attempted to win the Progressive Conservative nomination for Riverdale, but he lost narrowly to his fellow Ward 1 alderman Gordon Millen. Saunders then tried to win election to the Board of Control. He received no major newspaper endorsements, and in the 1945 and 1946 elections failed to win a seat. In 1947 he won back his old seat on city council he served there for two years before trying again for the Board of Control. In the 1949 election he was endorsed by all three daily papers and won a seat on the Board.
Mayor
Saunders topped the Board of Control vote in the
The Mayor's letter was reprinted in the press prompting him to be vilified in editorials. The controversy, along with Saunders's decision to bar the press from attending meetings of the Board of Control, was a contributing factor in his subsequent electoral defeat at the hands of
Forty members of the Orange Order had become Mayor in Toronto's history, including all of Toronto's mayors in the twentieth century up to and including Saunders. After his defeat, Saunders became Grand Master of the Orange in Canada and Imperial Grand President but was unable to stem the decline of the Order, particularly amongst youth, in what was becoming an increasingly multicultural, non-sectarian city.
East York
Saunders became politically active in the Toronto suburb of East York. He ran for
He served as the borough's chief magistrate in 1976 when he became interim mayor, appointed to complete the term of Willis Blair upon his appointment to the Ontario Municipal Board. He was re-elected to council as an alderman for a final term before retiring in 1978.[1]
Orange Order
Saunders was a devoted Orangemen and served as Imperial Grand President of the Grand Orange Council of the World, the Order's highest office, for six years.[1]
References
- Leslie Howard Saunders. An Orangeman in public life: the memoirs of Leslie Howard Saunders. Britannia Printers, 1980