View source for David Crombie

{{Short description|Canadian politician; mayor of Toronto}}
{{for|the Australian rugby player|David Crombie (rugby union)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| honorific-suffix    = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OOnt|size=100%}}
| image               = File:Former mayor David Crombie, in front of Crombie Park, 2016 03 18 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = David Crombie, 2016
| office              = 56th [[Mayor of Toronto]]
| term_start          = December 1, 1972
| term_end            = August 31, 1978<ref>{{cite news|title=Praise, banter tears as Crombie bows out|periodical=Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|date=1978-09-01|page=5}}</ref>
| predecessor         = [[William Dennison (Canadian politician)|William Dennison]]
| successor           = [[Fred Beavis]] (Interim)
| riding1             = [[Toronto Centre (federal electoral district)|Rosedale]]
| parliament1         = Canadian
| term_start1         = August 31, 1978
| term_end1           = October 1, 1988
| predecessor1        = [[Donald Stovel Macdonald]]
| successor1          = [[David MacDonald (Canadian politician)|David MacDonald]]
| office2             = Minister of [[Health and Welfare Canada|National Health and Welfare]]
| term_start2         = June 4, 1979
| term_end2           = March 2, 1980
| primeminister2      = [[Joe Clark]]
| predecessor2        = [[Monique Bégin]]
| successor2          = [[Monique Bégin]]
| office3             = [[Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs|Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]]
| term_start3         = September 17, 1984
| term_end3           = June 29, 1986
| primeminister3      = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| predecessor3        = [[Doug Frith]]
| successor3          = [[Bill McKnight]]
| office4             = [[Secretary of State for Canada]] and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism
| term_start4         = June 30, 1986
| term_end4           = March 30, 1988
| primeminister4      = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| predecessor4        = [[Benoît Bouchard]]
| successor4          = [[Lucien Bouchard]]
| title5              = Other offices
| suboffice6          = Toronto Alderman
| subterm6            = 1969–1972
| birth_name          = David Edward Crombie
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1936|04|24}}
| birth_place         = [[Swansea, Toronto|Swansea]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| nationality         = 
| party               = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]
| spouse              = Shirley Ann (Bowden) Crombie<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/crombie-hon-david-edward-pc-ba|title=Crombie, Hon. David Edward, P.C., B.A. &#124; Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|accessdate=1 June 2023}}</ref>
| relations           = 
| children            = [[Jonathan Crombie|Jonathan]], Robin, Carrie
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = 
| occupation          = {{hlist|Professor|politician}}
| profession          = 
| religion            = 
| signature           = 
| website             = 
| footnotes           = 
}}
'''David Edward Crombie''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC|OOnt}} (born April 24, 1936) is a former Canadian academic and politician who served as the 56th [[mayor of Toronto]] from 1972 to 1978. Crombie was elected to [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]] following his tenure as mayor. A member of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative (PC) Party]], he served as [[Health and Welfare Canada|minister of national health and welfare]] from 1979 to 1980, [[Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development|minister of Indian affairs and northern development]] from 1984 to 1986, and [[Secretary of State for Canada|secretary of state for Canada]] from 1986 to 1988.

==Early life==
Crombie was born in [[Swansea, Toronto|Swansea]], then a village west of Toronto, the son of Vera Edith (Beamish) and Norman Davis Crombie.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHQnAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Norman+Davis+Crombie+et+Vera+Edith+Beamish%22|title=The Canadian Parliamentary Guide|year=2005|publisher=Gale Canada |isbn=9781414401416}}</ref> He was a lecturer in politics and urban affairs at [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson]] in the 1960s when he became involved in [[Toronto]]'s urban reform movement.<ref name="Kuitenbrouwer">{{cite web |url=https://nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/qa-former-mayor-david-crombie-on-community-achievement |title=Q&A: Former Mayor David Crombie on community achievement |last=Kuitenbrouwer |first=Peter |date=31 May 2011 |work=National Post |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129200203/http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/05/31/qa-former-mayor-david-crombie-on-community-achievement/ |archive-date=29 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=November 29, 1972 |title=3 former comrades bid for Toronto mayor's job |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/waterloo-region-record-3-former-comrades/145507760/ |work=[[Waterloo Region Record]] |agency=[[The Canadian Press]] |location=Toronto, Ontario |page=34 |access-date=April 16, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> At the time, the city had a very pro-development [[city council]] that allowed a great deal of demolition of older buildings, including houses, to make way for the construction of apartment blocks, office towers, and highways (see [[Spadina Expressway]]). Crombie, along with [[John Sewell]] and other urban reformers, became a leader in a grassroots movement that favoured curtailing development in favour of improving social services and prioritizing community interests.

==Municipal politics==
{{No footnotes|date=December 2022|BLP=yes|section}}
Crombie was elected to Toronto's city council in 1970, and became [[Mayor of Toronto]] in 1972, ushering in an era of socially responsible urban development inspired by thinkers such as [[Jane Jacobs]]. Crombie was the first mayor who represented the reform movement of Toronto politics, and his policies differed sharply from those of the Old Guard who preceded him.

=== Mayor of Toronto ===
Much of Crombie's time as mayor was spent trying to rein in the development industry. He initially imposed a 45-foot (13.7&nbsp;m) limit on all new constructions, but this was overturned by the [[Ontario Municipal Board]]. Crombie then put forward a new official plan that imposed varying height restrictions across the city, and this was upheld by the board.

The [[Spadina Expressway]] had been halted by premier [[Bill Davis]] in 1971, but Davis continued to support the construction of the [[Allen Road|Allen Expressway]] in the north. Crombie attempted but failed to have it halted. He was more successful in countering plans for the Scarborough Expressway; all work was halted during Crombie's term, leading to its eventual cancellation.

Crombie also opposed the traditional pattern of demolishing poorer neighbourhoods and replacing them with [[housing project]]s. The plans to redevelop areas such as [[Trefann Court]], [[Kensington Market]], and [[Cabbagetown, Toronto|Cabbagetown]] ended under Crombie. Instead, he oversaw the creation of the [[St. Lawrence, Toronto|St. Lawrence]] neighbourhood, an area of mid-rise, mixed-use, mixed-income buildings that followed Jane Jacobs's vision of urban planning.

Crombie was re-elected in 1974 and 1976 with large majorities. Because of his great public appeal and his height of only {{convert|5|ft|5|in}},<ref>{{cite news|author=Dick Beddoes|title=Crombie on campaign|periodical=Globe and Mail|location=Toronto|page=8|date=1978-09-25}}</ref> he was repeatedly described in the media as the city's "tiny, perfect mayor".

==Federal politics==
{{No footnotes|date=December 2022|BLP=yes|section}}[[File:Crombie1983.jpg|thumb|Crombie speaks to reporters on the floor of the 1983 PC leadership convention]]

He left City Hall in 1978 to move to federal politics, contesting a [[By-elections to the 30th Canadian Parliament|by-election]] held for the [[Toronto Centre (federal electoral district)|Rosedale]] electoral district as a [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] candidate. The seat was vacated by liberal finance minister [[Donald Stovel Macdonald|Donald Macdonald]]. Crombie won the by-election by a large margin against Liberal star candidate [[John Robert Evans|John Evans]], then president of University of Toronto. Evans' candidacy was weighted down by the Liberals' unpopularity at the time{{efn|name=Evans|15 by-election was held on the same day. The Liberals lose 6 of the 7 seats they held prior. See [[By-elections to the 30th Canadian Parliament]]}} and damaged by the unexpectedly competitive nomination challenge launch by [[Anne Cools]].{{efn|name=Cools|Her campaign for the nomination was documented in the [[National Film Board of Canada]]'s 1979 film ''The Right Candidate for Rosedale''.}}  Crombie defeated Cools in the general elections held in 1979 and 1980, and future foreign minister [[Bill Graham (Canadian politician)|Bill Graham]] in 1984.

=== First Nations and Inuit health reform ===
Crombie served as [[Health and Welfare Canada|Minister of Health and Welfare]] in the short-lived [[minority government]] of [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Joe Clark]] which was elected in 1979 but lost power the next year.

In September 1979, Crombie, a liberal-minded reformer, as Minister of Health and Welfare under the Conservative government Prime Minister Joe Clark, issued a statement representing "current Federal Government practice and policy in the field of Indian health." Crombie declared that the "Federal Government is committed to joining with Indian representatives in a fundamental review of issues involved in Indian health when Indian representatives have developed their position, and the policy emerging from that review could supersede this policy".{{sfn|Castellano|1981|p=114}} In the previous year, Indian bands and organizations such as the Union of B.C. Chiefs, the Native Brotherhood, and the United Native Nations engaged in intense lobbying for Indians to control delivery of health services in their own communities and for the repeal of restrictive service "guidelines introduced in September 1978, to correct abuses in health delivery, and to deal with the environmental health hazards of mercury and fluoride pollution affecting particular communities."{{sfn|Castellano|1981|p=114}} Crombie appointed Gary Goldthorpe, as commissioner of the federal inquiry (known as the Goldthorpe Inquiry) into "alleged abuses in medical care delivery at Alert Bay, British Columbia."{{sfn|Castellano|1981|p=114}}{{sfn|Franezyk|1980|p=6}} In 1979 [[Thomas R. Berger|Justice Thomas Berger]], who headed the royal commission dealing with Indian and Inuit healthcare, recommended to Crombie that there be greater consultation with Indians and Inuit regarding the delivery of healthcare programs and that an "annual sum of $950,000 was allocated for distribution by the [[National Indian Brotherhood]] to develop health consultation structures within the national Indian community."{{sfn|Castellano|1981|p=114}} Crombie's successor as Liberal Minister of Health and Welfare, Monique Begin, adopted Berger's recommendations, ushering in the beginning of a change in health delivery.{{sfn|Berger|2002|p=144}}

=== Leadership Contestant & Minister in [[24th Canadian Ministry|Mulroney Ministry]] ===
Crombie stood as a candidate at the [[1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election|1983 Progressive Conservative leadership convention]].  He was the only candidate campaigned as a "[[Red Tory]]", drawing support mainly from moderates who opposed Clark's leadership. He finished fifth, out of eight candidates, on first ballot with only 3.9% of the delegate votes, and would have been eliminated after first ballot if not for the withdrawal of fellow Toronto candidate [[Michael Wilson (Canadian politician)|Michael Wilson]], who was in fourth place with 4.8%. He was eliminated on second ballot, having came in last with only 2.3%. Despite being ideologically in tune with Clark, Crombie endorsed third place candidate [[John Crosbie]].

After Mulroney led Conservatives to power in the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]], Crombie became [[Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs]], and later [[Secretary of State for Canada]] and [[Minister for Multiculturalism (Canada)|Minister of Multiculturalism]].

==Later career==
=== Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront ===
Frustrated in Ottawa, as a [[Red Tory]] in an increasingly conservative government, Crombie decided not to run in the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 election]] and returned to urban affairs as head of the [[royal commission]] on the Future of Toronto's waterfront (1988–92). He authored ground-breaking reports including '''Watershed'''' and '''Regeneration''', which described new integrated approaches to sustainable planning. The Provincial Government appointed Crombie as head of a provincial agency, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust Agency (1992-1999) to implement the 83 recommendations made in the final report, Regeneration. Among these recommendations was the creation of a waterfront trail. Today the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail extends from Quebec to Sault Ste Marie along Canada's Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. In 1999, Crombie founded the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, as a charity, to continue the work of the provincial agency, and serves on the Board. In addition to leading work on the creation of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, the charity manages a fund for the protection and restoration of the Rouge Valley, now part of the Rouge National Urban Park. Crombie tried to find an alternative to [[Red Hill Valley Parkway|Red Hill Creek Expressway]] but the [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] city council dismissed his compromise proposal out of hand as being insufficient.

=== Recent Public Services ===
Crombie was appointed Ryerson's first [[Chancellor (education)|chancellor]] in 1994 when the polytechnic was granted [[university]] status. He served in that role until 1999.

Throughout the 1990s, he served in various advisory capacities to city and provincial governments relating to urban issues in the Toronto area. In 2007 he retired as CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute. In April 2008, the [[Toronto District School Board]] selected Crombie to negotiate a solution to keep unfunded school swimming pools open to the public. In 2014 he publicly opposed plans by the federally run [[PortsToronto|Toronto Port Authority]] to lengthen runways at [[Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport|Billy Bishop Airport]] on the [[Toronto Islands]] to enable [[Porter Airlines]] to expand with jet planes.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Ken |last1=Greenberg |first2=Anne |last2=Golden |first3=David |last3=Crombie |first4=Jack |last4=Diamond |title=Island airport expansion is a change in kind not a change in degree | website=Toronto Star | date=February 9, 2014 | url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/02/09/island_airport_expansion_is_a_change_in_kind_not_a_change_in_degree.html}}</ref>

On May 13, 2004, Crombie was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]]. In 2012, he was made a member of the [[Order of Ontario]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ontario.ca/mci/en/2012/01/27-appointees-named-to-ontarios-highest-honour.html|title=Ontario Newsroom|website=news.ontario.ca|accessdate=1 June 2023}}</ref> In 2013, he was inducted into the [[Canadian Disability Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Previous Hall of Fame Inductees|url=https://www.cfpdp.com/previous-hall-of-fame-inductees/|website=Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons|access-date=5 January 2018}}</ref> Crombie serves on the Governors' Council of the Toronto Public Library Foundation, the Honorary Council for the [[Loran Scholars Foundation]], and the boards of CivicAction and the Planet in Focus Foundation. In addition, Crombie is a member of the Patron's Council at Dying with Dignity Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hon. David Crombie |url=https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/team-members/hon-david-crombie/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=Dying With Dignity Canada |language=en-US}}</ref> He also serves on the advisory boards of the Ryerson Image Centre and CARP Canada.

Crombie continues to be a visible participant of public discourse. In recent years, with his Red Tory views increasingly out of sync with conservatives politics, Crombie on numerous occasions joined ex-mayoral peers further to his left ([[Art Eggleton]], [[Barbara Hall (politician)|Barbara Hall]], [[David Miller (Canadian politician)|David Miller]] and [[John Sewell]]) in issuing open letters on various issues being debated.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tory, cops urged to end police carding |url=http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/03/tory-cops-urged-to-end-police-carding |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160322162321/http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/03/tory-cops-urged-to-end-police-carding |archive-date=2016-03-22 |access-date=2025-09-15 |work=Toronto Sun |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR JOHN TORY AND TORONTO CITY COUNCIL - CodeRedTO |url=https://coderedto.com/open-letter-to-mayor-john-tory-and-toronto-city-council/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=coderedto.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Benzie |first=Robert |date=2022-11-22 |title=Ford government slammed for ‘end run around democracy’ with enhanced ‘strong mayor’ powers |url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/ford-government-slammed-for-end-run-around-democracy-with-enhanced-strong-mayor-powers/article_2586daad-278f-576d-b15f-6b49951de84e.html |access-date=2025-09-15 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref> 

A [[David Crombie Park|park named after Crombie]] runs from [[Jarvis Street, Toronto|Jarvis Street]] to Berkeley Street, in a formerly industrial area, that was converted to housing.

==Personal life==
Crombie is the father of two daughters, Robin and Carrie, and actor [[Jonathan Crombie]], who starred in three ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' TV series. Jonathan died in New York on April 15, 2015, of a brain hemorrhage at age 48. His organs were donated, he was cremated and his ashes returned to Canada.<ref>{{cite web|last1=CBC|first1=CBC|title=Jonathan Crombie, Anne of Green Gables actor, dead at 48|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/jonathan-crombie-anne-of-green-gables-actor-dead-at-48-1.3038948|website=cbc.ca|publisher=CBC News|access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Archival records|title=David Crombie fonds|location=|inventory_number=Fonds 1337|description_URL=http://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/torontodetail.html?key=89426|dates=|access_conditions=}}
*{{citation|url=http://www3.brandonu.ca/library/cjns/2.1/castell.pdf|last=Castellano|first=Marlene Brant|title=Indian participation in health policy development: implications for adult education|location=Peterborough, Ontario|institution=Trent University|year=1981}}
*{{citation|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1185&dat=19800305&id=AYoqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NFwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4732,972390|title=Indian health inquiry open in Bay|last=Franezyk|first=Walter|date=5 March 1980|publisher=North Island Gazette|location=Alert Bay, Vancouver Island, BC}}
*{{citation|title=One Man's Justice: A Life in the Law|year=2002|location=Vancouver, BC|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|first=Thomas R.|last=Berger}}

==External links==
* {{occ|8580}} 
*{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=12537}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{s-new|office}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson University]]|years=1994–1999}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Craig Eaton II|John Craig Eaton]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{TorMayors}}
{{Mulroney Ministry}}
{{Clark Ministry}}
{{CA-Secretaries of State of Canada}}
{{CA-Ministers of Health}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crombie, David}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian political scientists]]
[[Category:Mayors of Toronto]]
[[Category:Metropolitan Toronto councillors]]
[[Category:Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Ministers of health and welfare of Canada]]
[[Category:Chancellors of Toronto Metropolitan University]]
[[Category:Canadian Disability Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]