Municipal elections were held in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1936.
Sam McBride was elected mayor in a three-way race in which incumbent
James Simpson finished third.
Toronto mayor
Sitting controller and former mayor McBride was elected mayor. defeating incumbent
James Simpson. Simpson had been elected mayor the year previously. He was the first
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) member and first socialist elected mayor of the city. The CCF was still a minority in "Tory Toronto" and Simpson's anti-Catholic sentiments also hurt him with the electorate. Former alderman
Harry W. Hunt, who had also placed second to Simpson in 1935, finished second again although he had the endorsement of the three conservative newspapers: The Globe, The Mail, and the Telegram. The Star endorsed McBride after having endorsed Simpson the previous election.
There was only a single change on the
Board of Control: former controller
J. George Ramsden returned to the Board filling the space vacated by McBride.
Results taken from the January 2, 1936 Toronto Star and might not exactly match final tallies.
Vacancy
Mayor
Sam McBride died on November 14, 1936. Controller
William D. Robbins who had been serving as Acting Mayor due to McBride's ill health was unanimously appointed Mayor on November 18; the Board of Control vacancy was not filled.