Florence Gell


Florence Ellis Gell was a prominent civic leader and a well-regarded municipal politician in the former City of York, Ontario, Canada. Gell was known to be a very active member of her community and was the first woman to serve in a number of public positions. She received local and provincial honours for her extensive public service, including York's Citizen of the Decade award.

Background

Florence Gell was born in 1906 to Annie Reed and George Arthur Bailey in Lachute Mills, Quebec. She moved with her family at a young age to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where she lived until 1919. Gell was living independently of her parents and was in full-time employment in Toronto, Ontario, by late 1920. She married George William Gell in 1930 in Toronto before moving to the Lambton Park neighbourhood of York in 1932, where they had two sons, Robert and John. George Gell served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was killed in Germany in April 1945.

Politics

Florence Gell was a role model and trailblazer for women in public life in the Township, later Borough (1967), then City (1983) of York. While serving as a school trustee, she was elected Chair of the York Board of Education and then a member of York's Municipal Council. For the majority of her time on the council, Gell served as a Deputy Reeve. She was the first woman to hold each of the positions of York Board Chair, Municipal Councillor, and Deputy Reeve, as well as the only woman on the York Council during her thirteen-year tenure.
Florence Gell inspired Gayle Christie to enter York politics. Gell was Christie's heroine. Christie followed in Gell's political footsteps and was elected Mayor of York. Gell was also an important inspiration to Frances Nunziata, who was also elected Mayor of York. Christie and Nunziata were the only women to be elected Mayor of York, which included holders of the equivalent position of Reeve on the old Township Council.

Municipal Council of the Township of York

During her time on the York Township Council, Florence Gell was involved in all of its functions: health & welfare, traffic, housing, parks & recreation, library services, finance, planning, etc. She took a hands-on approach to all aspects of her work. Gell commonly engaged in direct, personal consultations with her constituents. She kept a list of every person who phoned her with their concerns.
Gell was a well-regarded representative and was re-elected by large margins. In 1956, the Township Council established at the request of a group of her constituents, the Warren Park Ratepayers' Association.
In her 1964 testimony before an Ontario Royal Commission, Florence Gell strongly supported a system of small civic departments organized by lower-tier municipalities within the greater Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. She held that smaller municipal departments, under the supervision of local elected representatives, were more efficient and better able to meet local needs.
During the 1960s, Florence Gell supported the council's plans for the extensive construction of high-rise apartment buildings to increase the tax base in residential areas then comprising single-family dwellings. She was one of the Township's negotiators in its agreements with land developers. Gell's position on the matter was contrary to strong popular opinion, including that of the Warren Park Ratepayers' Association.
In September 1965, the Commissioner of the York Parks and Recreation Department accused Gell of repeated interference in its operations, which significantly reduced its efficiency. Many people and community organizations publicly supported the Commissioner, who, along with several other employees, resigned in 1966 over the Gell matter and other administrative obstructions imposed by the York Council.
The controversies surrounding the erection of numerous apartment buildings and the administration of the Parks and Recreation Department contributed to Florence Gell's electoral defeat in December 1966. The Warren Park Ratepayers' Association had actively campaigned against her.

Other public service

Following Florence Gell's departure from municipal politics in December 1966, she carried on with her public service in other roles. She continued her progression through the ranks to become President of the Ontario Traffic Conference, Chair of the Board of Governors of Humber College, and Chair of the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Gell was the first woman to hold each of the chair positions. As of 2025, she has been the only woman to serve as OTC President out of 53 office-holders.
Gell also served on the governing boards of the following organizations:
  • Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Foundation ;
  • Northwestern General Hospital ;
  • Osler School of Nursing ;
  • Runnymede Hospital ;
  • St. Hilda's Towers Foundation ;
  • St. Hilda's Towers, Inc. ;
  • York Township Housing Company, Director, President, Vice-President.

Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was established February 1, 1957, as an amalgamation of four existing authorities in the Toronto area. As was the case with its predecessors, the new regional authority was given jurisdiction over river watersheds for the purpose of the conservation and restoration of the natural environment and the prevention of floods and water pollution. With the exception of the provincially appointed Chair, the members of the Toronto Conservation Authority were appointed by the participating municipalities from their residents living within the jurisdiction of the Authority.
In February 1957, Florence Gell was appointed to the Toronto Conservation Authority by the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. During her time at the Conservation Authority, Gell served on its Information and Education Advisory Board, first as Vice-Chair and then as Chair, prior to becoming the Vice-Chair and then Chair of the entire Authority. The latter two positions made her an ex officio member of all advisory boards.

Conservation education

Florence Gell's presence on the Information and Education Advisory Board of the Conservation Authority allowed her to play an important role in the establishment and promotion of its conservation school and education field centres. The purpose of these facilities was to develop amongst children and youth an awareness of the natural environment and the need for its protection.
In 1959, while Vice-Chair of the Advisory Board, Florence Gell was Chair of its Conservation Camp School Sub-committee. This sub-committee selected the architect for the proposed Albion Hills Conservation School and approved the plans for submission to the Authority's Executive Committee for final approval.
The direct inspiration for the Albion Hills School was the annual Conservation Camp School organized since 1953 by Blanche Snell, Catherine Scholes, and other staff of York Memorial Collegiate Institute in York Township. Authority staff, led by Kenneth Higgs, instructed the students on conservation matters during the annual tenting trip. Due to limited facilities, the York Camp School comprised only one three-day session each May for one grade-nine class. During 1954–1956, plans were made in the Humber Valley Conservation Authority for permanent buildings at Albion Hills to permit numerous class visits to an expanded Camp School that operated all year round.
Florence Gell was a school trustee in 1953 and accompanied the class to the York Memorial Camp School. In 1956, Gell was a member of the Humber Valley Conservation Authority where the Albion Hills School was first proposed.
Following a period of fundraising for the project, construction of the Albion Hills Conservation School began in November 1962. Florence Gell continued her involvement in the project and was a frequent visitor to the site during its construction.
The Albion Hills Conservation School opened in September 1963 and was renamed a "Field Centre" in May 1969. In January 1968, the Albion Hills School received the Conservation Education Award of the Ontario Forestry Association. It was the first organization to receive this annual award since the establishment of the honour. In December 1968, the Albion School received the first White Owl Conservation Award for its work in promoting the preservation of the Canadian environment. The annual White Owl Award was sponsored by the General Cigar Company of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
Florence Gell became Chair of the Information and Education Advisory Board in February 1967. She was elected by acclamation upon her nomination by Charles Sauriol. This promotion made Gell an ex officio member of the Executive Committee of the Conservation Authority.
The Executive Committee appointed Florence Gell in November 1967 to a special three-person delegation to school boards to present the Authority's plans for the establishment of conservation field centres. The three-person delegation to the boards was repeated with Gell in February 1977 on the subject of "planning, development, and management of outdoor and conservation education programmes".
In December 1968, Florence Gell organized and hosted an all-day seminar on all aspects of conservation education for 73 representatives from Ontario's 36 conservation authorities. In November 1970, Gell co-hosted a second seminar on conservation education for representatives from the authorities and the Ontario Department of Education. This seminar occurred over three days and had 40 attendees.
During Florence Gell's tenure as Chair of the Information and Education Advisory Board, three additional education field centres were opened: Cold Creek in September 1968, Claremont in March 1970, and Boyd in November 1974. All four of the facilities were very popular and well attended. Their regular education programmes operated at capacity and were booked by area schools well in advance each year.
Gell served on the Management Advisory Committee for these education facilities and was Committee Chair. This dedicated committee within the Advisory Board was discontinued in 1973. Gell also served on the executive's standing sub-committee for the conservation farm that was attached to the Albion Hills Field Centre.

The Village at Black Creek

Florence Gell was also active in the promotion and education programme of the Authority's living history museum, The Village at Black Creek, then known as Black Creek Pioneer Village. In May 1967, she was one of the two persons holding the rope that was cut by Ontario Premier John Robarts at the ceremonial official opening of the Village.
Florence Gell was appointed in October 1969 to an ad hoc, four-person sub-committee of the Executive Committee to study the financing of the education programme at Black Creek Village and to request assistance in that regard from the provincial government. This sub-committee was also tasked with approaching the Ontario Minister of Tourism and Information for additional assistance in making the facility better known to tourists. This sub-committee continued to operate into 1970. In November 1971, Gell was one of two co-ordinators appointed by the Executive Committee to form an ad hoc committee of the Historical Sites Advisory Board for the preparation and presentation of a brief to the Minister of Education seeking financial support for the Black Creek Village education programme.
In 1993, the Conservation Authority appointed Florence Gell as Honorary Deputy Reeve of Black Creek Village for a one-year term beginning July 1. She was also named Honorary Reeve for the subsequent year. Since 1974, these honorary officials had presided over various events and ceremonies, including the official opening of new buildings and the annual re-enactment of the militia muster. They also promoted the Village and did walkabouts among the visitors.

Florence Gell Garden

On June 21, 1985, the Conservation Authority unveiled the Florence Gell Garden and plaque on the grounds of Black Creek Village in recognition of Gell's "remarkable contribution to conservation". The attendees at the dedication ceremony included William Foster, Authority Chair; Alan Tonks, Mayor of the City of York; Edward Fulton, MPP and Authority member; and The Honourable Pauline Mills McGibbon, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Conservation Foundation

The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Foundation was incorporated in April 1961 as a charitable organization to raise and hold funds in support of the work of the Conservation Authority. Its name was changed to The Conservation Foundation of Greater Toronto in June 1990. The impetus and first major project of the Foundation was the Albion Hills Conservation School.
The Authority appointed Florence Gell to the Conservation Foundation in 1973. Gell served as a Foundation Director, President, and Deputy Chair. She retired from the organization in October 1990.
Upon her retirement, Florence Gell was given the honour of Director Emeritus of the Conservation Foundation for "outstanding and long-term service" with the organization. She was one of the first two persons to receive this honorary position, which was created in 1990.

Ontario Traffic Conference

The Ontario Traffic Conference was formed in October 1950 and received its provincial charter as a not-for-profit corporation in June 1956. It changed its name to Ontario Traffic Council in June 2010.
The OTC is a voluntary association of Ontario municipalities, municipal organizations, police services, transportation services, and other organizations and people with an interest in traffic matters. The organization provides information, education, training, and symposiums on all traffic-related topics, including engineering, planning, safety, and law enforcement.
In April 1961, the delegates to the annual convention of the OTC elected Florence Gell as a director on its governing board, where she sat until June 1969. Gell was promoted within the board in May 1966 to the position of Vice-President and then in April 1967 to President for the standard one-year term. She was the first woman to serve in each of these three positions at a time when there was very little representation by women at the annual conventions.
Since 1950, member-volunteers had run the OTC out of their homes and workplaces, with a volunteer Secretary-Treasurer responsible for its day-to-day operations. In January 1965, the group's first dedicated physical office with a single paid employee was opened following the October 1964 resignation of the incumbent Secretary-Treasurer due to work commitments.
In her President's Report to the April 1968 convention, Florence Gell recommended that the OTC employ a second person as a "full-time secretary-treasurer-manager" to succeed a volunteer that had resigned effective March 31 due to work commitments. The proposal was not adopted, and Gell served as a volunteer Acting Secretary-Treasurer for two years following her term as President. In 1972, this administrative role was split into two volunteer positions, Secretary and Treasurer.
During Florence Gell's term as OTC President, the annual convention was reorganized to separate the educational activities from the suppliers' exhibits. The main sessions comprised only workshops, with a greater emphasis on audience participation, an earlier adjournment for the day, and no refreshment breaks. The exhibits were moved to suites for viewing after the adjournments.
Florence Gell was named an Honorary Life Member of the Ontario Traffic Conference in the early 1970s for her work with the organization.

Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology

In April 1968, Florence Gell joined the Board of Governors of the public Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology. The Ontario Council of Regents, which supervised all such colleges in the province, recommended Gell's initial appointment and first renewal for approval by the Minister of Education. The Council itself approved her two subsequent renewals. Gell reached the eight-year term limit for a provincial appointee at the end of 1975. The Borough of York then appointed her to the Humber Board in January 1976 as its representative for a four-year term.
In February 1974, the Humber Board elected Florence Gell as its Vice-Chair. This appointment was renewed in 1975 and 1976. She was then elected Chair of the Board in February 1977 and 1978. Gell was succeeded as Chair in February 1979 and left the Board at the end of that year.
Humber College's original campuses were located in the Borough of Etobicoke, which bordered the Borough of York. In 1969, Florence Gell strongly advocated for the establishment of a campus in York. In September 1970, the college opened its Keelesdale Campus in the Kodak Heights industrial area of York's Mount Dennis neighbourhood, immediately west of its Keelesdale/Silverthorn neighbourhood. Gell was the Board's representative to this facility, which closed at the end of 1995 due to a lack of land and funding for necessary upgrades.
During her time on the Humber Board, Florence Gell served as Chair of its Program Committee. This Committee evaluated existing and proposed educational programs and changes at the college. A similar committee operated at the Council of Regents to coordinate programs across the college system.
Gell also served on the Social Services Advisory Committee, which advised the Board on the curricula of the social service programs offered at the college. This Committee included representatives from social organizations, such as Big Brothers, Catholic Children's Aid Society, Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, Ontario Welfare Council, Toronto Social Planning Council, Veteran's Affairs Department, and the YMCA. Members of the committee also included Humber staff and students.
In 1979, a group of women affiliated with Humber College established the Florence Gell Award, which was given annually to one or more female students for high performance in the college's journalism program.

Community work

Florence Gell was active in all aspects of her community. At various times before, during, and after her political career, Gell's community and public positions included the following:
  • Vestry Clerk, Advisory Board officer, Toronto Synod lay delegate, and a principal fundraiser for The Church of the Advent ;
  • Rationing Officer during World War II;
  • Volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross Society;
  • Member and President of the Lambton Park Home and School Association;
  • Adult advisor to the youth-run Jack and Jill Club for Teenagers;
  • Corresponding Secretary of the York Community Council;
  • Chair, then Corresponding Secretary, of the York Advisory Recreation Committee;
  • Member of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire ;
  • Director of the Toronto and District Urban School Trustees' Association;
  • Returning Officer and Clerk for provincial elections;
  • Advocate for the establishment of public daycare facilities for children;
  • Chair of the Fireworks Committee for the annual community Victoria Day celebration;
  • Active member and convention delegate of the local Progressive Conservative Association;
  • Member of the York Safety Council;
  • Member and spokesperson of the Committee Representing York Borough Hospitals;
  • Senior volunteer at St. Hilda's Towers;
  • Member of York's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee.
Florence Gell's philanthropic activities included fundraising for the following organizations:
For her extensive community and public service, Florence Gell was named York's first Citizen of the Decade in 1978. Likewise, she received the Ontario Bicentennial Medal in 1984 and the Ontario Senior Achievement Award in 1989.

Advisory Recreation Committee for the Township of York

As a private citizen, Florence Gell was very active in the organization of recreational activities in the Township of York. In February 1946, the Township Council appointed Gell to its new citizen's Advisory Recreation Committee. This first committee of volunteers was established by a resolution of the council and was discontinued in January 1947. It was re-established the following May under a March by-law. Gell's appointment to the new Committee of volunteers was rejected by the Council in a five to two vote. She was then reinstated in January 1948 by a unanimous vote. Gell remained a citizen-member through December 1953, after which she joined the Council itself. Elected members of the Council sat on the committee from January 1949 onwards.
The purpose of the Advisory Recreation Committee was to advise and assist the Township Council and its Director of Recreation in the administration of recreational activities and to encourage community participation. The actions of the Committee dealt with a broad range of items, such as the following:
  • Organization of Township sports days, annual fairs, conferences, and recognition dinners for athletes and sports organizers;
  • Specific recommendations regarding
Florence Gell was Chair of the Advisory Recreation Committee in 1946–1947 and then Corresponding Secretary in 1949–1953. As Secretary, Gell received an honorarium from the Township, unlike all other positions on the committee.
In February 1948, Florence Gell was a co-presenter to the York Township Council of a joint proposal by the Advisory Committee and the York Community Council for the creation of a Recreation Commission. The Township Council rejected the proposal since it required authorizing legislation by the province of Ontario. If established, the commission would have been a separate legal entity with members from the Township Council and other interested groups. It would have administered all public recreational facilities and services in the Township in place of a municipal recreation department.

The Church of the Advent (Anglican), Pritchard Avenue, York

A member since at least 1941, Florence Gell's most active period in The Church of the Advent began in February 1967 when she joined the parish's Advisory Board. This body, which usually met monthly, organized activities in the parish and provided assistance and recommendations to its Rector and Churchwardens. Gell remained on the Board until February 1989, with an eight-month gap from June 1986.
The Advisory Board was the operating committee of the Church's Vestry. Florence Gell became Advent's Vestry Clerk in January 1968. She served in the position 1968–1976, 1981–1986, and 1990–1995. The entire Vestry usually met once annually in late January.
The Board was itself divided into committees for different purposes. Florence Gell served for years as chair of the following sub-groups: Flea Market, Avenue of Boutiques, Fireworks, and Property Maintenance. She was also a member of the Finance Committee.
Gell was also active for many years in the production of the Advent Bulletin, the Church's monthly communication to its members, which was reactivated in 1968. Over the 1968–1988 period, she served in a series of roles in the production of the publication: committee secretary, committee chair, business agent & advertising manager, and co-ordinator.
In 1967, The Church of the Advent was in financial trouble. The Church had been previously forced to make a series of cuts to the amount of its quarterly payments on the demand note held by the bank, and necessary repairs to Church properties were being postponed. In July 1967, the Church suspended its monthly payments to the Toronto Synod, and by August it did not have sufficient funds to meet any of its regular expenses. Payments resumed later that year following an appeal to parishioners for financial support, the introduction of fees for the use of Church facilities by non-church organizations, and the receipt of a grant from the Borough of York for a Victoria Day display of fireworks the previous May.
In 1968, fundraising efforts intensified with the introduction of the Church's first two flea markets. More work was also done to raise funds via the Victoria Day fireworks. In 1970, a more elaborate bazaar, the Avenue of Boutiques, replaced the autumn flea market. Florence Gell chaired the organizing committees for these events, which produced substantial revenue for the Church.
The additional revenue from the fundraising paid off the demand note in 1970 and allowed capital improvements to Advent's properties: church, hall, and rectory. These improvements included the following items:
  • 1969 – Funds raised by the Fireworks Committee paid for new eavestroughs on the church, an external coat of paint, and the rehabilitation of the outdoor bulletin board.
  • 1971 – The revenue from the fireworks went to replacing the church's leaky roof.
  • 1973 onwards – The substantial monies raised by the annual Avenue of Boutiques were deposited in a fund for a new heating system in the church and hall, which was installed in 1975.
  • 1974 – Money raised by the sale of advertisements in the Advent Bulletin paid for the refurbishment of the Rector's study in the hall.
  • 1976 – Bulletin advertising revenue paid for new cupboards, additional carpeting, and repairs to the church bell and furnace room.
  • 1977 – Bulletin revenue paid for the complete renovation of the washrooms in the hall.
Following Florence Gell's death in 2001, The Church of the Advent set up a fund for scholastic bursaries in her memory, the first five of which were given out in 2005.

Advent's firework displays

Florence Gell's committee at The Church of the Advent raised money via its annual Victoria Day fireworks by donation canvassing, prize draws, and selling refreshments to attendees. The fireworks were purchased by the Church but handled and ignited by the York Fire Department. From 1966 to 1972, the pyrotechnic display was the main attraction of a much larger community event involving other local groups and comprising multiple activities.
The details of the event varied over the years. It typically began in the afternoon with a parade north along a major street to Smythe Park from the office of the sponsor of York's Smythe Park baseball league for youth. This parade was followed by baseball matches and by competitions among children for the decoration of bicycles and doll carriages. The evening entertainments in Smythe Park included performances by local majorettes, Scottish dancers, square dancers, choirs, and musical groups. These community performers included the Optimist Yorkettes, York Majorettes & Fire Drill Baton, York Lions Steel Band, Clans of York Pipe Band, Optimist Lancers Drum & Bugle Corps, Centennial Irish Accordion Band, and rock bands.
The event was very popular. In May 1968, the Weston Times reported that "Advent's Victoria Day celebration at Smythe Park was a huge success with over 8,000 people milling about the grounds". The estimated attendance in 1970 was 7500.
The Advent fireworks were discontinued after 1972. At that year's event, a spectator was killed and three others were injured when a multi-stage rocket misfired and then exploded when it landed in the crowd. Florence Gell represented Advent at the coroner's inquest into the mishap. From 1973 onwards, there were no public Victoria Day pyrotechnics anywhere in the Borough of York and no community Victoria Day events in Smythe Park.

Honours

Florence Gell received a number of local and provincial honours for her public and community work. These recognitions included the following:
  • Honorary Life Member of the Ontario Traffic Conference ;
  • York's first Citizen of the Decade award ;
  • The Ontario Bicentennial Medal ;
  • Ontario Senior Achievement Award ;
  • Director Emeritus of the Conservation Foundation of Greater Toronto ;
  • Honorary Deputy Reeve and Honorary Reeve of Black Creek Village in the Conservation Authority.
In addition, the following were so named in her honour:
  • Florence Gell Park in the Warren Park neighbourhood of York;
  • The Florence Gell Award at Humber College;
  • The Florence Gell Garden at Black Creek Village;
  • Florence Gell Memorial Bursary at The Church of the Advent.
Note: Contrary to some sources, Florence Gell was not named York's Citizen of the Year in 1981. That honour went to Nadia De Franco.

Explanatory notes

Online, open access

  • Christopher D. Ryan.. . Toronto, Ontario: Christopher D. Ryan, December 2024.
  • Christopher Wilson, Cinemagic Productions.. .
  • Humber College.., Humber Happenings, Winter 1977, Vol. 3, No. 5, p. 6.
  • Florence Gell. Testimony of June 4., Vol. 16, pp. 1583–1591.
  • City of Toronto, .
  • Humber College Archives,
  • Toronto and Region Conservation Authority,
  • Weston Historical Society Digital Newspaper Collection,

Online, limited access

  • Bill McLean.. . Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, 2004.
  • Arthur Herbert Richardson. . Toronto & Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1974.
  • John C. Boylen.. . Municipal Corporation of the Township of York & Board of Education of the Township of York, 1954.
  • The Toronto Star Archives. For full coverage, search both and to allow for missing issues and defects in the OCR scanning.
  • Globe and Mail Historical Newspaper Archive. Via

Offline

  • Jonathan Michael Eayrs.. At The Edge: 100 years of life at 'The Advent' 1911–2011. Toronto, Ontario: Church of the Advent, 2010.
  • The Church of the Advent.. Florence Gell Memorial Bursary. Background: Mrs. Florence Gell 1906-2001, dated 08/06/2005. Anglican Diocese of Toronto Archives, Accession 2016–09, Box 8, File Florence Gell Memorial Scholarship Fund.
  • Carrie Brunet.. "York politician Florence Gell was always a lady", The York Guardian, March 30, 2001, Vol. 5, No. 13, p. 3.
  • John Gell.. "Mrs. Florence Gell: The First Lady of York" in Memories of Lambton Park. Toronto, Ontario: John Gell, August 2000, pp. 143–146.
  • City of York.. Biography of Florence Gell of March 1984, and Letter of December 3, 1984, to Florence Gell regarding the Ontario Bicentennial Medal. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 211, City of York, Series 1620, File 2874, Ontario - bicentennial celebrations.
  • The Church of the Advent.. "One of Our Members has been Honoured", Advent Bulletin, November 1978, Anglican Diocese of Toronto Archives, Accession 2016–09, Box 4.
  • City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 211, Series 646, York Council Minutes, and Committee of General Purposes Minutes.