Esther Shiner

Esther Shiner (February 12, 1924 – December 19, 1987) was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She served on the North York city council from 1973 until her death, and was also a member of the Metropolitan Toronto council. She served as North York's Deputy Mayor in the 1980s.

Shiner's parents were Jewish refugees from Poland. She was raised in modest circumstances, and attended the University of Toronto for a year before marrying and becoming a homemaker. Shiner was an active Zionist, and was a member of Hadassah in her youth.

Shiner was elected as an alderman for North York's fourth ward in the 1972 municipal election. Her primary cause was the Spadina Expressway, which she wanted to extend as far as downtown Toronto. Shiner fought several battles with Premier Bill Davis on this issue, and unsuccessfully tried to have a city-wide plebiscite on extension in 1985. The expressway was partly extended in the 1970s, but Davis blocked any further extensions.

Shiner was elected to the North York Board of Control in 1976, and remained a member until her death. The position gave her an automatic seat on the Metropolitan Toronto Council. She served on Metro's transportation committee for several years, and was a frequent rival to fellow councillor Anne Johnston. She was also appointed to the management board of the O'Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts in 1979, and remained a board member until 1986. Shiner supported the principle of amalgamation for Toronto's six municipal governments in 1978, on the grounds that it would yield a better transportation system.

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