William Dennison (Canadian politician)
| William Donald Dennison | |
|---|---|
| 55th Mayor of Toronto | |
|
In office January 1, 1967 – December 31, 1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Phil Givens |
| Succeeded by | David Crombie |
| Member of Provincial Parliament | |
|
In office 1948–1951 |
|
| Preceded by | Roland Michener |
| Succeeded by | Everett Weaver |
| Constituency | St. David |
|
In office 1943–1945 |
|
| Preceded by | Allan Lamport |
| Succeeded by | Roland Michener |
| Constituency | St. David |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 20, 1905 Renfrew County, Ontario |
| Died | May 2, 1981 (aged 76) Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | United Farmers of Ontario / Co-operative Commonwealth Federation |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Gertrude Bainbridge |
| Children | Lorna Ann Dennison (Mrs. Ross Milne) |
| Residence | Toronto |
| Alma mater | Westmeath S.S. # 8 |
| Occupation | School Principal |
| Religion | Protestant |
William Donald Dennison (January 20, 1905 – May 2, 1981) was a Canadian social-democratic politician that served in both the Ontario Legislative Assembly and finally as the City of Toronto's mayor. He served two nonconsecutive terms as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the 1940s and early 1950s. After his provincial-level career, he focused on Toronto's municipal politics, holding offices as an alderman, member of the Toronto Board of Control, and finally as the city's mayor. He was the mayor from 1967 to 1972, winning two consecutive three-year terms. Prior to entering politics, he was a school principal and teacher. As of 2015 he was the last mayor of Toronto to be a member of the Orange Order.
Dennison grew up on a farm in Renfrew County. He first left home at age 15 to work in the lumber camps of Northern Ontario. As a young man he would trek west to Saskatchewan in the summers to earn money helping with the harvest and pitching grain. By night, he would educate himself by reading Little Blue Books.
As a child and a young man he stammered so badly where he could not pronounce his own name, although after several failed attempts to correct his stammering, first at a school in Kitchener and later at a school in New York City, he eventually learned how to control and correct the habit himself, opening his own School of Speech Correction.
Dennison was a member of the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1920s, and became a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and its successor, the New Democratic Party. He was the CCF candidate in the Rosedale electoral district during the 1935 federal election: he placed third.
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