Nathan Phillips, Mayor of Toronto 1955-1962: Life and Legacy

Nathan Phillips (1892 to 1976) was mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962 and the first Jewish person to hold the office. A lawyer who sat on city council for decades, he drove the project that became the new City Hall, which opened on September 13, 1965. The square in front of it carries his name.

Early life and legal career

Nathan Phillips was born on November 7, 1892, in Brockville, Ontario, and grew up in Cornwall, where his father ran a small haberdashery. The Canadian Encyclopedia says he decided at the age of ten to become a lawyer. He helped pay for his studies with a photography business, and photography stayed a hobby for the rest of his life.

He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1913 and was called to the bar the same year. He worked as a defence lawyer and later as a Crown prosecutor. In 1929, at 36, he was named King’s Counsel, which the encyclopedia describes as probably the youngest such appointment in Ontario’s history.

He married Etta Lyons in 1917, and they had three children. Their son Lewis died at the age of 11 after being struck by a car. Another son, Howard, was elected a Toronto alderman for Ward 3 in 1949, and the two became the first father and son to sit on council at the same time.

A long council career and some lost races

Phillips first won a seat on Toronto City Council on January 1, 1924, representing Ward 4. The Canadian Encyclopedia says he was re-elected 27 consecutive times. His ambitions outside City Hall went less well. He lost as the Conservative candidate for Spadina in the 1935 federal election and lost provincial races in St. Andrew’s in 1937 and 1948.

He also ran for mayor in 1951 and 1952 and lost both times. A third attempt, in the election held in early December 1954 for the term beginning in 1955, succeeded. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported his victory on December 8, 1954, under a headline noting that he was the first Jew elected to the post.

The 1954 campaign and the Orange Order

Toronto’s business and political life had long been dominated by Protestants. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, every mayor for the previous century had been a Protestant and a member of the Orange Order. The incumbent, Leslie Saunders, was also a senior Orange Order officer, and the encyclopedia says he made preserving Protestant power central to his campaign. Phillips entered the race after learning of this.

His win was read as a turning point. The encyclopedia presents it as part of the city’s shift from a Protestant enclave toward a multicultural city, a change also described in the articles on Jewish Toronto and postwar immigration. In his victory speech he promised to serve everyone fairly, and he became known as “the Mayor of All the People.”

He won re-election four more times. The City of Toronto’s list of mayors gives his years in office as 1955 to 1962. For the wider list, see Toronto mayors and municipal elections.

Style and priorities in office

Phillips believed a mayor should set broad goals and rely on councillors and staff for the details. He was known for warmth and humour and for remembering people’s names. The Canadian Encyclopedia credits him with promoting acceptance of ethnic differences as the city grew more diverse.

The same source links several large projects to his years: an east-west subway line, the O’Keefe Centre (now Meridian Hall) and a new civic square. The east-west line is described in the article on the Bloor-Danforth subway. The civic square became the project most closely tied to his name.

The new City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square

Toronto had argued for decades about a replacement for Old City Hall. The Canadian Encyclopedia says council, led by Phillips, approved a modernist plan for a new city hall and public square in 1955. An international competition followed. The encyclopedia dates the judging to 1958, while the City of Toronto’s own material points to 1957, so the year is stated two ways. The winner was the Finnish architect Viljo Revell, with two tall, curved towers. The full design story is in the article on Toronto’s new City Hall.

The site came at a cost. The encyclopedia notes that homes and businesses in the Chinatown area of the district known as The Ward were expropriated and demolished to make room. That earlier community is covered in Chinatown, Toronto.

Construction began on November 7, 1961, which was Phillips’s 69th birthday. By then the site had already been named Nathan Phillips Square. He attended the opening on September 13, 1965, as a guest of honour.

The square covers 4.85 hectares, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The City of Toronto says the reflecting pool becomes a public skating rink from about November to March.
The City says the arches and the pool and rink are part of the square’s heritage designation. The arches were officially named the Freedom Arches in 1989.
Henry Moore’s bronze The Archer was installed in 1966, after Phillips had left office.

Defeat in 1962 and later years

Phillips lost the 1962 election to Donald Summerville, an alderman since 1955, who the encyclopedia says won a majority in every ward. Phillips went back to practising law. The Canadian Encyclopedia says he worked on divorce law reform and on gender equity for women. He received the Civic Award of Merit from Governor General Georges Vanier.

He died in Toronto on January 7, 1976, of a heart condition, at the age of 83. Many people kept calling him “Mr. Mayor” after he left office, according to the encyclopedia, and his obituary in the Toronto Star praised him for making newcomers feel like citizens rather than strangers.

How he is remembered

The square is the main reminder. A TVO article published in 2026 notes that in 2005 a city councillor proposed removing his name and selling the naming rights. The idea met strong opposition, including from his grandchildren, and went nowhere. The same article cites a survey in which 0.6 per cent of Toronto respondents named him unprompted as a former mayor, while 21.5 per cent picked him correctly from a list of options.

His career is a useful marker of how the city changed. The mayor’s office had been held by Orange Order Protestants for a century, and by 1955 it passed to a Jewish lawyer from Cornwall who campaigned as a mayor for everyone. The building he championed still houses the council, and the square in front of it remains one of the city’s main public gathering places.

Frequently asked questions

When was Nathan Phillips mayor of Toronto?

From 1955 to 1962, according to the City of Toronto’s list of mayors and the Canadian Encyclopedia. He was elected in early December 1954 for the term starting in 1955 and won re-election four times.

Was Nathan Phillips the first Jewish mayor of Toronto?

Yes. The Canadian Encyclopedia calls him Toronto’s first Jewish mayor, and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported his election on December 8, 1954, as a first for the city.

Why is Nathan Phillips Square named after him?

He was the mayor who pushed hardest for the new City Hall and civic square. The site had already been named for him by the time construction began on November 7, 1961.

When did the new City Hall open?

On September 13, 1965. Phillips, who had lost office in 1962, attended as a guest of honour.

When did Nathan Phillips die?

He died in Toronto on January 7, 1976, aged 83.

Sources

The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Nathan Phillips” (accessed October 2026)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “Nathan Phillips Elected Mayor of Toronto; First Jew in This Post” (December 8, 1954)
City of Toronto, “Mayor, Reeve & Chairman” chronological list (accessed October 2026)
City of Toronto, Nathan Phillips Square, “What’s there at Nathan Phillips Square” (accessed October 2026)
The Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto feature on the New City Hall and Henry Moore’s The Archer (accessed October 2026)
TVO, “Does anyone remember Nathan Phillips?” (2026)

Last verified: October 2026

Cite this page

APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 31). Nathan Phillips: Toronto’s First Jewish Mayor and City Hall Champion. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/nathan-phillips

MLA: “Nathan Phillips: Toronto’s First Jewish Mayor and City Hall Champion.” History of Toronto, 31 Oct 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/nathan-phillips. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “Nathan Phillips: Toronto’s First Jewish Mayor and City Hall Champion.” Last modified October 31, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/nathan-phillips.

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