Fred Gardiner

Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, QC, LL.D. ( born January 21, 1895 in Toronto, Ontario; † August 22, 1983 in Toronto, Ontario) was a Canadian politician of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, a lawyer and businessman, and from 1953 to 1961 first President of Metropolitan Toronto, the forerunner of the metropolitan network Greater Toronto Area.

Life

Frederick Gardiner was born in 1895 as one of three children of David and Victoria Gardiner. After primary school he attended from 1909 to public High School Parkdale Collegiate Institute. First political experience he gained in 1911, when he was his father, a member of the Conservative Party, helped at a campaign. Gardiner started in 1913 to study at the University of Toronto and was drafted as a result of World War I in 1916 as an officer in the Royal Flying Corps. Because of his war service, he took the fourth year of his studies is not complete, and enrolled in the Law School Osgoode Hall. He completed his law degree in 1920 with honors and practiced afterwards.

His political career began in 1934 when the Conservatives in the provincial elections suffered a defeat. He joined in the same year the Conservative Businessman's Association and was a candidate in 1935 for the seat in parliament in the City Council of Forest Hill, a northern district of Toronto. In the 1940s, the City of Toronto began to grow rapidly to their limits. This planning was necessary for the structural reorganization of the city. Gardiner is a strong advocate of the merger of the suburbs with the city of Toronto and in 1953 president of the new association Metropolitan Toronto. During his tenure, he drove to several urban planning projects such as the construction of the two city highways Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. In addition, the construction of the Toronto Subway with the two lines Bloor- Danforth and University was opened. He is regarded during his tenure as president as one of the most influential politicians of the decisions of the City of Toronto. The mayor Nathan Phillips described him as very assertive when he was convinced of one thing.

After his tenure as President of Metropolitan Toronto, he wanted to practice law in January 1962. In the absence of sufficient legal cases he moved into business and became director of the Toronto - Dominion Bank. He was then with 100,000 shares at the same time their greatest owner. He also became a Board of eleven other companies. He paused a number of public offices, and was among others Commissioner of the energy company Toronto Hydro, was member of the Board of Governors of York University and Vice President of the Canadian National Exhibition. In the 1960s his health became increasingly worse and received a hip replacement in 1971. Frederick Gardiner died 88 years old on August 22, 1983 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Gardiner was married to Audrey Seaman, since October 1921 and had two children with her.