The 1946 Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 municipal election was held on December 9, 1946 to select one Mayor, four Controllers, and sixteen members of the Hamilton City Council

Hamilton City Council

The Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The current council consists of the mayor plus fifteen councillors, one elected from each of the city's wards. The incumbent council was elected in a municipal election on November 13, 2006...

, as well as members of the local Board of Education.

Election campaign

The 1946 campaign marked the first organized attempt in Hamilton by a major political party to run candidates in a municipal election. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...

 (CCF) fielded a slate of candidates for the mayoralty, Board of Control and for aldermanic positions in each ward, save Ward 1. In the two wards with contested Board of Education

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is the public school board in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, which was formed January 1, 1997 via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards. HWDSB teaches approximately 50,000 students in its 114 neighbourhood schools...

 races, namely Wards 4 and 7, only one candidate was a declared CCF nominee..

As had been yearly precedent, the Labour-Progressive Party

Labour-Progressive Party

For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....

 nominated candidates, most notably Helen Coulson, a prominent party member and two-term Ward 7 Alderman..

Candidates

• Roy Aindow was a World War I
  World War I
  World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
  
   veteran
  Veteran
  A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
  
  , union organizer and candidate supported by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. The Hamilton Spectator
  The Hamilton Spectator
  The Hamilton Spectator, founded in 1846, is a newspaper published every day but Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The paper has a daily circulation of 105,000 and a daily readership of nearly 260,000.-History:...
  
  described Aindow as "Intelligent, likable, [and] a conscientious partisan."

• Helen Anderson was the sitting Ward 7 Alderman and organizer for the Labour-Progressive Party
  Labour-Progressive Party
  For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
  
  . In a profile done by the Hamilton Spectator, she was described as a "shrewd, aggressive, extreme Leftist."

• Walter Thomas Carroll had no fixed employment and was described as a "well-known figure in Ward 5."

• Andrew Hamilton Frame was an incumbent Controller, veteran of World Wars I and II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
   and the former secretary of the Hamilton Boy Scouts.

• Douglas Belling Gordon was, at the time, one of Ward 5's Aldermen, and was viewed as a critic of the administration.

• Herbert Reginald Hannah was one of Ward 1's Aldermen and was described by the Hamilton Spectator as "aggressive, keen, competent."

• Nora-Frances Henderson was a 12-term Controller at the time of the election. Extremely conservative
  Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
  The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
  
  , Henderson was the leader of the anti-Sam Lawrence faction on Council
  Hamilton City Council
  The Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The current council consists of the mayor plus fifteen councillors, one elected from each of the city's wards. The incumbent council was elected in a municipal election on November 13, 2006...
  
  , a division that was made more prominent by the Stelco
  Stelco
  US Steel Canada is a steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.-History:Several existing smaller steelworks combined and were incorporated as the Steel Company of Canada in 1910. Charles S...
  
   Strike of 1946. Henderson was heartily endorsed by the Hamilton Spectator, calling her, "One of the best public servants this city has ever had. A woman of integrity, intelligence and great courage."

• Hugh McDermid McIntyre was a Scottish-Canadian printer
  Typesetting
  Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
  
  and sitting member of the Board of Control.

• William Alfred Weir was a member of the Board of Control, and, as the Spectator noted, "not inclined to controversy."