George Ben
Canadian politician
title: "George Ben" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1925-births", "1978-deaths", "czechoslovak-emigrants-to-canada", "ontario-liberal-party-mpps", "toronto-city-councillors", "burials-at-park-lawn-cemetery", "20th-century-members-of-the-legislative-assembly-of-ontario", "20th-century-canadian-municipal-councillors"] description: "Canadian politician" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ben" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Canadian politician ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | George Ben |
| office1 | Ontario MPP |
| constituency1 | Humber |
| term_start1 | 1967 |
| term_end1 | 1971 |
| predecessor1 | Bev Lewis |
| successor1 | Nick Leluk |
| term_start2 | 1965 |
| term_end2 | 1967 |
| predecessor2 | Joseph Gould |
| constituency2 | Bracondale |
| successor2 | Riding abolished |
| party | Liberal |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Slovakia |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Toronto, Ontario |
| occupation | Lawyer |
| spouse | Ruby Elizabeth Hall (m. 1952) |
| allegiance | Canadian |
| branch | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| serviceyears | 1942-1945 |
| rank | Gunner |
| battles | World War II |
| :: |
| name = George Ben | image = | imagesize = | caption = | office1 = Ontario MPP | constituency1 = Humber | term_start1 = 1967 | term_end1 = 1971 | predecessor1 = Bev Lewis | successor1 = Nick Leluk | term_start2 = 1965 | term_end2 = 1967 | predecessor2 = Joseph Gould | constituency2 = Bracondale | successor2 = Riding abolished | party = Liberal | birth_date = | birth_place = Slovakia | death_date = | death_place = Toronto, Ontario | occupation = Lawyer | spouse = Ruby Elizabeth Hall (m. 1952) | allegiance = Canadian | branch = Royal Canadian Air Force | serviceyears = 1942-1945 | rank = Gunner | unit = | commands = | battles = World War II | mawards = George Ben (September 5, 1925 – December 17, 1978) was an Ontario lawyer and political figure. He represented Bracondale and then Humber in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1965 as a Liberal member until his defeat in the 1971 provincial election. Ben was a member of Toronto City Council in the early 1960s, representing Ward 5, and returned to council in the 1972 municipal election. He was re-elected for the final time in 1978, and died in office on December 17, 1978.
Background
Ben was born in Slovakia, the son of John Ben. Ben was educated in Toronto, at the University of Toronto and was trained as lawyer at Osgoode Hall Law School. He served in World War II in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a gunner in a bomber. In 1952, he married Ruby Elizabeth Hall.
Politics
Ben was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1962, representing Ward 5, placing first, which meant he was also concurrently a member of Metropolitan Toronto Council. In 1964, he ran for Toronto's Board of Control, but lost.
In 1965, after the death of Liberal MPP Joseph Gould, he won the Liberal Party of Ontario's nomination for the Bracondale constituency.
He decided to run in the Humber constituency in 1967, which did not contain any part of his previous one. The constituency was located in Toronto's west-end, incorporating the old village of Swansea, parts of Etobiocke, and the City of York. He unseated Lewis, but the real surprise was that the incumbent came in third place. Ben narrowly defeated New Democratic Party of Ontario (NDP) candidate Kealey Cummings by 149 votes.
Later life
In 1978, Ben ran again for Toronto City Council in Ward 4, approximately the southern portion of his old Bracondale constituency's boundaries. In the November council elections, he placed second to future Toronto mayor Art Eggleton, making him the junior alderman for the ward.
Ben is interred in the Park Lawn Cemetery in Etobicoke.
References
References
- McNenly, Pat. (August 25, 1965). "Profile: He hustles". The Toronto Star.
- Star Staff. (September 16, 1965). "Ben says he will fight for one-city Metro". The Toronto Daily Star.
- Humeniuk, Taras. (October 6, 1967). "A maverick tackles a veteran in Humber". The Toronto Daily Star.
- Star Staff. (October 17, 1967). "George Ben pulls Humber upset". The Toronto Daily Star.
- Star Staff. (December 18, 1978). "City maverick, George Ben, dead at 53". The Toronto Star.
- (2011). "George Ben Park". City of Toronto.
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