Susan Goldenberg

On October 16, 1952 North York career politician Fred (Frederick Joseph) McMahon was in criminal court. He wasn’t on trial. He was representing in his other role as a private practice lawyer, Canada’s most notorious bad guy, serial bank robber and prison escapee Edwin Alonzo Boyd,

 The law says everyone, including those accused of a crime, is entitled to legal representation. Boyd’s sentencing was precisely one month after he and his gang were captured in a remote area of North York.

McMahon tried to evoke sympathy for Boyd. “He has a deep affection for his wife and children. I submit that the loss of these loved ones will torture him more than the actual  sentence of confinement. I beg that he be left a ray of hope.” His eloquence didn’t work. Boyd was sentenced to eight life terms plus thirty-two years. However, he was released after twelve years.

McMahon (1914-1988) was North York  Deputy Reeve, 1950; Reeve, 1951 to 1956. It was a challenging time. The community’s infrastructure, sufficient when the population was around 25,000 before the Second World War, was inadequate for the 140,000 more people who moved in between 1945 and 1956, drawn by comparatively low house prices. This was at the very time that control over property assessment and public infrastructure transferred to the newly formed metropolitan government. 

He was pro-growth. He required developers to provide financing for infrastructure, allowed apartment buildings to be erected, getting rid of a bylaw prohibiting high rises.  Toronto’s first suburban shopping plaza, Lawrence Plaza, Bathurst and Lawrence, opened while he was reeve.