Leslie Saunders
| Leslie Howard Saunders | |
|---|---|
| 51st Mayor of Toronto | |
|
In office 1954–1955 |
|
| Preceded by | 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 |
March 30, 1899 London, England |
| Died | March 30, 1994 (aged 94) Scarborough, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Occupation | Business manager |
| Religion | Protestant |
Leslie Howard (Les) Saunders (September 12, 1899 – March 30, 1994) 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.
Saunders was born in London, England and immigrated with his family to North Bay, Ontario at the age of six. He began his working career in Northern Ontario with the Ontario Northland Railway. A trade unionist, he became president of his local union and ran as a Labour candidate for North Bay's city council. He served in World War I and then became Secretary-General of the Great War Veteran's Association in North Bay helping raise money for a war memorial.
A staunch Salvationist, Saunders join the Orange Order in 1918. He had a 37-year-long political career which began in North Bay where he served as an alderman for six years. He and his family moved to Toronto in 1928 and, during the Great Depression, Saunders became Business Manager of The Sentinel, the Orange Order's influential, twice-weekly publication. In 1936, Saunders founded a rival publication, Protestant Action, as he felt The Sentinel was not taking a strong enough stand against Catholic-run Separate Schools. Saunders entered politics and was elected as a school board trustee and then as an alderman in the 1942 election.
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 "O Canada", arguing the monarchist "God Save the King" and the "Maple Leaf Forever" were Canada's true anthems. In 1946 he led a campaign against the city holding a public welcoming for newly proclaimed Cardinal James Charles McGuigan. Saunders argued that Catholics had no right to parade through the streets of what was a "Protestant City". He also led a letter writing campaign against the Encyclopedia Americana, for what he argued was a biased article on the Orange Order. The campaign was a success and the volume was recalled and replaced with an article written by Saunders.
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