1972 Toronto municipal election

1972 Toronto mayoral election

← 1969 December 4, 1972 1974 →
Turnout	40% [1]
Candidate David Crombie Tony O'Donohue David Rotenberg Popular vote 82,754 58,362 35,213 Percentage 43% 30% 18%
Mayor of Toronto before election William Dennison Elected Mayor of Toronto David Crombie

The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972, to elect the governments of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well.

The election was overshadowed by the 1972 federal election held October 30 and the American elections held November 7, but it resulted in a dramatic change in the city government. Four new mayors were elected, and 17 of 32 Metro seats were held by newcomers. In the City of Toronto, control of city council was won by the reform faction and reform leader David Crombie was elected mayor.

As in the 1969 election many of the central debates were over proposed megaprojects. The Spadina Expressway had been halted in 1971, but some wanted it built. The debate over the Scarborough Expressway was also one of the central issues in the east end.

An IBM 370-155 was used by the Star to process the results.^[2]