John Garland Boulevard
John Garland Blvd. is a curving road that runs west from Kipling Av. just south of Albion Rd., and ends at Finch Av. W., just west of Martin Grove Rd. But who was John Garland? The mystery of this street name was solved, thanks to past issues of the Toronto Star, which can be accessed on-line through the Toronto Public Library’s website.
John Garland was a popular Liberal MP from Nipissing who was first elected in 1949. In the Pearson federal government of April, 1963, Garland was appointed Minister of Revenue. Among other things, he was responsible for housing, including low income housing.
At that time, there were several low rent housing projects on the go in Metro that were way behind schedule. One of these projects, near Albion and Kipling, was the 1200 unit “Thistletown Project”. It was behind schedule because Etobicoke council was trying very hard to make this project go away: they preferred not to have any more low rent housing in Etobicoke. Garland was working with Metro Chair William Allen to persuade Etobicoke to stop obstructing the project.
While all of this was going on, Garland died suddenly of a heart attack on March 14, 1964. He was only 46, but was overworked, effectively carrying two portfolios. By March 1965, John Garland Blvd. had been named after him. And by 1967, all of the public housing he had been advocating had been built, adjacent to the newly named John Garland Blvd.
Researched and Written by Denise Harris
John Garland was a popular Liberal MP from Nipissing who was first elected in 1949. In the Pearson federal government of April, 1963, Garland was appointed Minister of Revenue. Among other things, he was responsible for housing, including low income housing.
At that time, there were several low rent housing projects on the go in Metro that were way behind schedule. One of these projects, near Albion and Kipling, was the 1200 unit “Thistletown Project”. It was behind schedule because Etobicoke council was trying very hard to make this project go away: they preferred not to have any more low rent housing in Etobicoke. Garland was working with Metro Chair William Allen to persuade Etobicoke to stop obstructing the project.
While all of this was going on, Garland died suddenly of a heart attack on March 14, 1964. He was only 46, but was overworked, effectively carrying two portfolios. By March 1965, John Garland Blvd. had been named after him. And by 1967, all of the public housing he had been advocating had been built, adjacent to the newly named John Garland Blvd.
Researched and Written by Denise Harris