David Crombie

David Crombie knows Toronto. Not only was he the reform-minded mayor of the city from 1972 to 1978, he is also currently working to save Toronto’s waterfront in his position as Chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust.

Besides working to revitalize the waterfront of Canada’s largest city, Mr. Crombie is also currently the Chair of the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid. His legacy as mayor of the city includes the development of the downtown St. Lawrence neighbourhood, which is widely regarded as a modern urban planning triumph. In 1999, his essays on the city accompanied the photographs of Rudy Christl in the striking volume Toronto: The Celebration.

Mr. Crombie has spent a lifetime in politics, both at the municipal and federal level. After his tenure as a Toronto alderman and then mayor, Mr. Crombie went to Ottawa when he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Toronto-Rosedale in 1978. He quickly rose through the ranks of the federal government and held three different cabinet positions, including Minister of National Health and Welfare, Minister of Indian Affairs, and Secretary of State for Canada.