All municipalities in the Canadian province of Ontario held elections on November 10, 1980, to elect mayors, reeves, councillors, and school trustees."Voters go to polls in 801 municipalities". The Globe and Mail, November 10, 1980. Some areas also held local referendums.
Incumbent mayors were defeated in several cities. The most closely watched contest was in Toronto, where challenger Art Eggleton defeated incumbent mayor John Sewell. In Hamilton, Jack MacDonald was ousted by William Powell."Stunning upset makes pensioner Hamilton mayor". Toronto Star, November 11, 1980. In Brantford, Dave Neumann defeated incumbent mayor Charles Bowen, while in Oshawa, Allan Pilkey defeated incumbent Jim Potticary."Incumbents ousted in major centres". The Globe and Mail, November 11, 1980.
Several other incumbent mayors were reelected, including Marion Dewar in Ottawa, Jim Gordon in Sudbury, Ross Archer in Barrie, Hazel McCallion in Mississauga, Bert Weeks in Windsor and Morley Rosenberg in Kitchener.
In the town of Tecumseh, outgoing councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Cameron Frye came out as gay at the outgoing council's last caretaker meeting before the new council was sworn in, making him one of Canada's first known openly gay holders of political office."Reeve gauche: A sad come-out". The Body Politic, February 1981. The campaign had been marked by rumours about Frye's sexuality, including the distribution of hate literature claiming that Frye would promote a "gay lifestyle" as mayor and would lead the town into "moral decay","Victim of hate mail loses in bid for mayor". The Body Politic, December 1980. although Frye had refused to confirm or deny the claims about his sexuality during the campaign."Hate mail clouds campaign in town that promotes love". Toronto Star, November 2, 1980.
Elected mayors and reeves Ajax: Bill McLean Barrie: Ross Archer Belleville: George Zegouras Brampton: Jim Archdekin Brantford: Dave Neumann (details) Brockville: Peter Lewis Burlington: Roly Bird Caledon: John Clarkson Cambridge: Claudette Millar Chatham: Curtis Carter Cornwall: Gerald Parisien Dundas: Joe Bennett East York: Alan Redway (details) Etobicoke: Dennis Flynn (details) Flamborough: Betty Ward Fort Erie: Madeleine Faiazza Georgina: Joseph Dales Gloucester: Betty Stewart (details) Grimsby: Bob Arkell Guelph: Norm Jary Haldimand: Edith Fuller Halton Hills: Peter Pomeroy Hamilton: Bill Powell Kingston: John Gerretsen Kingston (Township): John Smale Kitchener: Morley Rosenberg London: Al Gleeson Markham: Tony Roman Milton: Gordon Krantz Mississauga: Hazel McCallion (details) Nanticoke: George Dmetriuc Nepean: Ben Franklin (details) Newcastle: Garnet Rickard Newmarket: Ray Twinney Niagara Falls: Wayne Thomson North Bay: Jack Smylie North York: Mel Lastman (details) Oakville: Harry Barrett Orillia: David Macdonald Oshawa: Allan Pilkey Ottawa: Marion Dewar (details) Owen Sound: Bob Rutherford Peterborough: Bob Barker Pickering: Jack Anderson Port Colborne: Bob Saracino Rayside-Balfour: Gilles Pelland Richmond Hill: Al Duffy Sarnia: Marceil Saddy Sault Ste. Marie: Don MacGregor Scarborough: Gus Harris (details) St. Catharines: Roy Adams Stoney Creek: Bill Sears Stratford: Ted Blowes St. Thomas: Doug Tarry Sudbury: Jim Gordon Thunder Bay: Walter Assef Timmins: Vic Power Toronto: Art Eggleton (details) Trenton: Duncan McDonald Valley East: Howard Armstrong Vanier: Wilfrid Champagne (details) Vaughan: Garnet Williams Waterloo: Marjorie Carroll Welland: Eugene Stranges Whitby: Robert Attersley Windsor: Bert Weeks Woodstock: Wendy Calder Woolwich: Ken Seiling York: Gayle Christie(details)
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