1991 Toronto municipal election
The 1991 Toronto municipal election was held on November 12, 1991, to elect councillors in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and mayors, councillors and school trustees in Toronto, York, East York, North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke.
Under the 1989 Municipal Act changes, the title of alderman was changed to councillor across Metro.
Leadership
- Metro Toronto Chairman - Alan Tonks
- Mayor of Toronto - June Rowlands
- Mayor of East York - David Johnson, Michael Prue
- Mayor of Etobicoke - Bruce Sinclair
- Mayor of North York - Mel Lastman
- Mayor of Scarborough - Joyce Trimmer
- Mayor of York - Fergy Brown
Metro
Metro council was mostly unchanged from that elected in the 1988 election. The only incumbent defeated was Bob Sanders in Scarborough Malvern, who was ousted by Raymond Cho. New arrivals included school board trustee Olivia Chow elected downtown.; High Park
;Trinity Niagara
;Downtown
;Don River
;East Toronto
;Davenport
;Midtown
;North Toronto
;East York
;Lakeshore Queensway
;Markland Centennial
;Kingsway Humber
;Rexdale Thistletown
;North York Humber
;Black Creek
;North York Spadina
;North York Centre South
;North York Centre
;Don Parkway
;Seneca Heights
;Scarborough Bluffs
;Scarborough Wexford
;Scarborough Centre
;Scarborough Highland Creek
;Scarborough Agincourt
;Scarborough Malvern
;York Eglinton
;York Humber
North York Humber Councillor Mario Gentile resigned on August 10, 1994, following a conviction for breach of trust. Paul Valenti was appointed to fill the vacancy on August 24.
Toronto
Mayor
In Toronto, the mayoral race was the first open contest in more than a decade as Mayor Art Eggleton decided not to run for re-election after 11 years. Jack Layton, a long-time city councillor and leader of the council's left wing contested the Mayor's position as the first-ever official candidate of the Metro New Democratic Party.The centre-right was initially divided amongst three candidates, former city councillor June Rowlands who had most recently been chair of the police commission, then-city councillor Betty Disero and former alderman, provincial cabinet minister and Red Tory Susan Fish. Fearing that the 1991 election would be a repeat of 1978 where a split on the right allowed left-winger John Sewell to win, the business and development community worked behind the scenes to consolidate its support behind Rowlands. Lacking funds, Disero and Fish were forced to drop out before the close of nominations resulting in a two-way race between Rowlands and Layton with Rowlands proving victorious. Fish's name remained on the ballot, as she withdrew after the deadline for nominations had passed.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| June Rowlands | 113,993 | 58.53 |
| Jack Layton | 64,044 | 32.88 |
| Susan Fish | 8,123 | 4.17 |
| Don Andrews | 1,968 | 1.01 |
| Jim Harris | 1,760 | 0.90 |
| Ken Campbell | 1,708 | 0.88 |
| Joe Young | 1,196 | 0.61 |
| William McKeown | 1,023 | 0.53 |
| Ben Kerr | 952 | 0.49 |
| Total valid votes | 194,767 | 100.00 |
Results taken from the Toronto Star newspaper, 14 November 1991, E8. The final official results were not significantly different.
City council
As with Metro, city council was mostly stable with all incumbents who ran being reelected. The new council had six NDP affiliated members eight members on the right and two moderates who varied between the groups. New members included Kyle Rae, who won Layton's vacated downtown seat, and became the first ever openly gay man to serve on council.| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| William Boytchuk | 5,662 | 41.25 |
| David Hutcheon | 3,913 | 28.51 |
| Rosemary Martinuk | 2,319 | 16.90 |
| Bill Roberts | 1,830 | 13.33 |
| Total valid votes | 13,724 | 100.00 |
- In Ward 1, incumbent Councillor William Boytchuk, had no problem keeping his seat, winning with a 13% margin over David Hutcheon. Hutcheon would later be elected to City Council in 1994 and serve as Budget Chief.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Chris Korwin-Kuczynski | 7,005 | 59.45 |
| Susan Shaw | 4,777 | 40.54 |
| Total valid votes | 11,782 | 100.00 |
- Councillor Korwin-Kuczynski, who has held the ward since 1982, defeated challenger Susan Shaw by nearly 20% in a head-to-head challenge.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Tony O'Donohue | 4,348 | 64.01 |
| Debbie Field | 2,312 | 34.04 |
| Jimmy Talpa | 132 | 1.94 |
| Total valid votes | 6,792 | 100.00 |
- Serving on Council since 1966, O'Donohue easily won re-election in his ward.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Martin Silva | 3,870 | 47.51 |
| Nick Figliano | 2,780 | 34.13 |
| Ian Christie | 1,496 | 18.36 |
| Total valid votes | 8,146 | 100.00 |
- Martin Silva has held the ward since winning for the first time in 1988, and won re-election over Nick Figliano and Ian Christie with almost half the vote.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Elizabeth Amer | 3,718 | 37.73 |
| Benson Lau | 3,304 | 33.53 |
| Hilary Gait | 1,948 | 19.79 |
| Raymond Poon | 884 | 8.97 |
| Total valid votes | 9,854 | 100.00 |
- One term councillor Elizabeth Amer won re-election by a narrow margin over Benson Lau.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Kyle Rae | 4,803 | 38.08 |
| Simon de Groot | 3,630 | 28.78 |
| Peter Maloney | 3,410 | 27.03 |
| Hutch Andersan | 771 | 6.11 |
| Total valid votes | 12,614 | 100.00 |
- Kyle Rae won the seat vacated by Jack Layton in his attempt to run for mayor, and became the first openly gay City Councillor in Toronto.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Barbara Hall | 5,853 | 70.13 |
| Edward Fortune | 2,493 | 29.87 |
| Total valid votes | 8,346 | 100.00 |
- Barbara Hall, soundly won her ward with 70% of the vote, in a one-on-one campaign against Edward Fortune.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Peter Tabuns | 5,974 | 46.63 |
| John Roy | 5,709 | 44.56 |
| Michael Green | 1,129 | 8.81 |
| Total valid votes | 12,812 | 100.00 |
- Future NDP MPP Peter Tabuns won his ward by a razor-thin margin. Tabuns defeated John Roy by just over 200 votes, the narrowest in the election campaign.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Steve Ellis | 3,801 | 36.40 |
| Avril Usha Velupillai | 3,437 | 32.92 |
| Terry Brackett | 3,204 | 30.68 |
| Total valid votes | 10,442 | 100.00 |
- After the resignation of incumbent councillor Tom Clifford, the seat was won by Steve Ellis in a three-way race over the area's School Trustee Avril Usha Velupillai and Terry Brackett.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Tom Jakobek | 10,211 | 72.43 |
| Shelly Jean O'Neill | 3,887 | 27.57 |
| Total valid votes | 14,098 | 100.00 |
- Tom Jakobek, who has served as the councillor for the area since 1980, won re-election in an almost 3 to 1 margin over challenger Shelly Jean O'Neill.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Rob Maxwell | 3,780 | 51.53 |
| Walter Melnyk | 3,090 | 42.13 |
| Eugene Zimmerebner | 485 | 6.61 |
| Total valid votes | 7,355 | 100.00 |
- Incumbent Rob Maxwell won by a 700-vote margin over Walter Melnyk.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Betty Disero | 6,420 | 64.73 |
| Nick Marchese | 1,902 | 19.18 |
| Fred Dominelli | 1,596 | 16.09 |
| Total valid votes | 9,918 | 100.00 |
- After dropping out in her run for mayor, Betty Disero ran for City Council, soundly defeating her challengers with 65% of the vote.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| John Adams | 4,904 | 38.60 |
| Ying Hope | 4,157 | 32.72 |
| Brian Mayes | 3,645 | 28.69 |
| Total valid votes | 12,706 | 100.00 |
- John Adams won the ward of Yorkville. Ying Hope also attempted to make a political comeback, after serving as a Toronto alderman in the 1960s and 70s.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Howard Levine | 5,201 | 42.90 |
| John Gunning | 4,015 | 33.12 |
| Gerry Gordon | 2,280 | 18.81 |
| Anthony Burson | 628 | 5.18 |
| Total valid votes | 12,124 | 100.00 |
- Incumbent Howard Levine wins the upper-class ward with 43% of the vote, 11% over his next closest challenger John Gunning.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Kay Gardner | 11,299 | 76.11 |
| Nancy Griffin | 3,546 | 23.88 |
| Total valid votes | 14,845 | 100.00 |
- The only ward where all candidates were female, incumbent Kay Gardner defeated her challenger Nancy Griffin with 3 times the vote.
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
| Michael Walker | 9,001 | 57.47 |
| Malcolm Martini | 3,688 | 23.55 |
| Howard Brown | 2,973 | 18.98 |
| Total valid votes | 15,662 | 100.00 |
- Michael Walker wins the ward with twice the number of votes as his next closest challenger.
East York
Dave Johnson was re-elected mayor by a wide margin. All the incumbents were re-elected. Ward 2 saw the closest race.† - denotes incumbent status from previous council
Mayor
- †Dave Johnson 18,329
- Brenda Louella Kildey 3,977
Replacement mayor
On April 2, 1993, Johnson was elected to the provincial government in a by-election to replace Margery Ward who died in office. East York council decided to choose a new mayor amongst themselves rather than run a by-election that would have cost an estimated $500,000. Michael Prue won the contest after six rounds of balloting and he became the mayor for the rest of the term. Norm Crone was appointed to fill Prue's place on council.Council
Two councillors were elected in each ward.;Ward 1
- †Michael Prue 3,261
- †Case Ootes 3,061
- John Couvell 1,347
- Michael Sokovnin 610
- †George Vasilopoulos 3,469
- David Anderson 3,269
- Paul Robinson 3,098
- Bob Dale 2,377
- John Papadakis 2,052
- John Antonopoulos 1,845
- Ed McConnell 1,357
- Jim Zotalis 487
- †Lorna Krawchuk 5,173
- †Jenner Jean-Marie 4,449
- Darrel Berry 3,050
Etobicoke
Mayor
- Bruce Sinclair 38,124
- Norman Matusiak 31,327
Council
Ward 1- Irene Jones 2,664
- Peter Ramos 1,167
- Bon Gullins 1,037
- Alex Faulkner 2,878
- Lynn Harrett 1,428
- Peter Milczyn 1,142
- Ross Bissell 3,325
- Aileen Anderson 1,835
- Mark Palazzese 1,300
- Michael O'Rourke 5,669
- Stephen Boujikian 1,528
- Brian Flynn 2,563
- Anne Methot 1,747
- Susan Sotnick 1,524
- Ron Barr 877
- Abu Alam 137
Ward 7
- Gloria Luby 4,245
- John Woodroof 3,069
- Mary Huffman 4,718
- Raymond Morand 2,284
- Alex Marchelli 3,187
- Peter Kell 1,791
- Brian Ineson 2,474
- David Robertson 2,229
- Frank Acri 935
- Brian Logie 151
- Elizabeth Brown 1,333
- Karen Herrell 1,079
- Charlie Gordon 872
- Darshan Singh 204
- John Hastings 2,351
- Ron Strong 571
- Anil Banerjee 436
North York
Mel Lastman was re-elected mayor of the North York for the seventh consecutive time which broke a record set 710 years ago in the 13th century. Only one incumbent councillor, Bob Bradley was defeated in Ward 13 by newcomer David Shiner. Two other newcomers joined him, John Filion and Maria Rizzo who replaced retiring councillors. All other councillors were re-elected.Mayor
- Mel Lastman 91,449
- David K. Long 17,321
Council
Ward 1- Mario Sergio 6,699
- Fred Craft 1,492
- Judy Sgro acclaimed
- Peter Li Preti 4,949
- Kathleen Walsh 1,174
- Lennox Farrell 1,072
- Frank Di Giorgio 5,150
- Marco DeVuono 1,484
- Mario Rizzo 5,908
- Linda Memmo 3,499
- Craig Deasley 832
- Milton Berger acclaimed
- Irving W. Chapley 4,867
- Shalom Schachter 2,649
- Michael Klein 518
- Sonnee Cohen 466
- Jessie Silver 354
- Mark Arshawsky 306
- Lothar Hille 124
- Joanne Flint acclaimed
- Ron Summers 5,346
- Freddy Trasmundi 3,341
- Don Yuill 3,770
- Anne Lelovic 3,193
- Tony West 683
- Rod Gerrard 457
- John Filion 4,553
- Mary Matrundola 2,680
- Jack Arshawsky 289
- Barry Burton 4,212
- Frank DiTomasso 2,418
- David Shiner 5,017
- Bob Bradley 3,591
- Paul Sutherland 5,470
- Gerry Scanlan 1,355
North York School Board
Ward 1 Emery- Sheila Lambrinos
- Bob Churchill
- Stephnie Payne
- Elsa Chandler
- Errol Young
Results taken from the Toronto Star, 13 November 1991. The final official results were not significantly different.
Ward 7 Wilson Heights
- Mae Waese
- Gerri Gershon
- Shelley Stillman
- Darlene Scott
- Diane Meaghan
- Kim Scott Liberal
- Dan Hicks
- David Caplan Liberal
Scarborough
Mayor
- Joyce Trimmer 67,458
- John O'Malley 11,728
- Max French 3,784
- Abel Van Wyk 2,758
City Councillors
Ward 1- Harvey Barron
- Gerry Altobello 3,690
- Danny Lovatsis 1,734
- Mike Tzekas 2,357
- John Wardrope 2,192
- George Page 1,051
- Tom Furr 921
- Rocco Zambri 222
- Lorenzo Berardinetti 3,762
- Kurt Christensen 2,104
- Costas Manios 1,367
- Ruth A. Lunel 357
- Marilyn Mushinski 2,783
- Paul Crawford 1,115
- George Walsh 1,040
- Steve Tonner 377
- Paul Mushinski 2,878
- Barry Christensen 1,603
- Tom Rowland 1,603
- Chris Kalpakis 512
- Chester Searles 426
- John Beatt 205
- Shawn Bredin 202
- Fred Johnson
- Frank Faubert 3,952
- David Soknacki 1,532
- Steve Ryan 1,075
- Michael Fiddes 119
- Ron Moeser 7,391
- Joseph Pileggi 2,055
- Ron Watson 4,345
- Herb Cotter 1,219
- Sherene Shaw 3,552
- Don Lombardi 1,457
- Christopher Fermanis 1,230
- Ayoub Ali 361
- Doug Mahood 4,511
- Bill Kan S. Choung 760
- Norair Yeretsian 629
- Norman Chan 303
- Bas Balkissoon 4,191
- Herbert P. Valle 1,469
- Edith Montgomery acclaimed
York
The race for York council was the most volatile of all the Toronto votes. During the previous term, a development scandal occurred where at least two councillors were convicted of taking bribes from a developer to sell parkland for a condominium development. In all, six of eight incumbents were defeated. Only Fergy Brown as mayor and councillors Frances Nunziata and Bill Saundercook were re-elected. Nunziata was instrumental in exposing the scandal.Mayor
- †Fergy Brown 18,702
- Phil White 12,776
Council
;Ward 1- Roz Mendelsohn 1,627
- †Ben Nobleman 1,254
- Marguerite Kaszecki-Pyron 938
- Kevin Fulbrook 429
- Joe Mihevc 929
- Branko Jovanovich 631
- Helen Poulopoulos 590
- †Tony Mandarano 571
- Joe Fazio 509
- Chaltanya Kalevar 497
- Claudio C. Lewis 54
- Rob Davis 859
- Angela Bianci 625
- Theo Evdoxiadis 475
- Mario Giansante 422
- Roland Saggiorato 402
- Gabriel Graziano 290
- Jose Perez 209
- Suzana Dozsa 178
- Leroy Crosse 152
- Tony Pizzolato 101
- Joan Roberts 1,149
- †Nicolo Fortunato 666
- Patrick Canavan 524
- Joe Piccininno 317
- Barry Rowland 941
- Lynda Palmer 917
- Mary Pedretti 710
- Enrico Iafolla 667
- †Jim Fera 466
- Michael McDonald 2,259
- †Bob McLean 1,417
- Bernard Thompson 1,375
- †Frances Nunziata 3,546
- Pat Rocca 834
- Harold Jinkinson 348
- †Bill Saundercook 2,506
- Ben Orszulak 1,227
- Fran Ferguson 593
School Board
;Ward 1- Karen Hen
- Pete Karageorgos
- John Mills
- Elizabeth Hill
- Joe Morriello
- Bonnie Taylor
- Steven Mould
- Madeline McDowell