Obituary: Alan Redway, former Mayor of East York and MP for York East, remembered for his service to community
By ALAN SHACKLETON
Alan Redway, a former Mayor of the Borough of East York and a former York East Member of Parliament, has died.
Redway died on Jan. 4 of this year at the age of 87.
A lawyer, Redway lived in the Leaside area and had a long career serving the residents of East York as both a politician and community supporter.
He was first elected to the Borough of East York Council as an alderman (councillor) representing Leaside in 1973. He then served as mayor from 1977 to 1982.
In 1984, Redway was elected as MP for York East (the federal riding now known as Don Valley East) as a member of the Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative government. Redway was re-elected in 1988 as the York East MP and was named Minister of State for Housing by Prime Minister Mulroney in 1989.
Redway’s political career ended in the 1993 federal election when he was defeated in the race for the York East seat by Liberal David Collenette. That election saw the Progressive Conservatives, then under the leadership of Prime Minister Kim Campbell, win only two seats across the entire country.
Though his political career may have ended more than 30 years ago, Redway’s involvement in and dedication to his community never stopped.
“Alan was devoted to public service and a lifelong champion of East York,” said Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford in a post on Facebook.
Redway is remembered for his service to numerous organizations including the Daily Bread Food Bank, where he was on the Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004; the East York Historical Society; the East York Foundation; and the East York Hall of Fame.
Redway was inducted into the East York Hall of Fame at a ceremony in June of 2023.
“A former Mayor of East York and MP for the area, he has had a long career in both politics and community service. He grew up in East York and has dedicated his life to helping others,” said the East York Hall of Fame.
Redway is considered the founder of the community celebration East York Day, and also the East York flag. Redway also made it a priority to expand the number of seniors homes in East York and is a supporter of government investment in supportive housing, said the East York Hall of Fame.
In a Facebook post, the East York Historical Society praised Redway for helping to start the organization decades ago.
“Mr. Redway was one of the key founding members of East York Historical Society over 43 years ago and his passing is a great loss to our Society and to the world. On behalf of East York Historical Society, we extend our sincere and deepest condolences to his dear beloved wife Mrs. Louise Redway, their two daughters Andrea and Kim and their two grandchildren Thomson and Sydney and to extended family and friends,” said the Society’s post.
Though no longer serving as an elected official after the 1993 federal election, Redway was always keenly involved in and aware of politics and how it impacted the East York community and beyond.
He was also a published author, having written the books East York 1924-1997: Toronto’s Garden of Eden; and Governing Toronto: Bringing Back the City That Worked.
Along with his numerous contributions to East York, Redway is also remembered for helping create the East York flag.
That process came about after the Town of Leaside was merged with the Township of East York to create the Borough of East York by provincial government decree in 1967. Redway said the two communities had often been rivals with each other in the past, and a new flag would help unite the residents.
“Six years after the merger I was elected to the borough council as one of two aldermen (now called councillors) representing what had been the former Town of Leaside (excluding Thorncliffe). Four years later I was elected as the mayor of the entire Borough of East York. Many residents of both the former town and the former township believed that the people on the other side of the bridge spanning the Don Valley were different from themselves, but the truth is quite the opposite,” wrote Redway in an article for Leaside Life.
“Soon after my election to the borough council it became evident to me how similar the people of the former town and the former township really were. Together they demonstrated the characteristics that I have often described as one small town within a big city. No matter where they lived, all the people of the Borough of East York were proud of living in a clean, safe and friendly community in which residents cared about each other and cared for the well-being of their neighbours. As well, all were very watchful of the way their council spent their hard-earned tax dollars, demanding excellent local services but at the least possible cost.
“As mayor I recognized that what this new municipality needed was a symbol that would bring us altogether as one community. At that time, the relatively new Canadian maple leaf flag was a symbol that had made all Canadians proud of our country. What about a flag for the Borough of East York? All of the six municipalities that made up Metro Toronto after 1967 had their own flag except for the Borough of East York. Here was the opportunity to create our own symbol. So, I applied for and received authorization from the borough council to hold a design contest for a borough flag.”
Funeral arrangements for Redway are not yet known.
Flags at City of Toronto buildings, including the East York Civic Centre, flew at half mast until the end of the day on Wednesday, Jan. 10, to pay tribute to Alan Redway.
Flags fly at half mast in front of the East York Civic Centre on Jan. 10 in honour of former East York Mayor Alan Redway who died on Jan. 4 at the age of 87.
