Norman Goodhead

Norman Goodhead

Norman C. Goodhead (August 26, 1917 - October 3, 2009) was reeve of North York, Ontario from 1959 to 1964 and also a businessman.

Goodhead was born in the poor neighbourhood of Cabbagetown in Toronto. He was first elected to the town council of the Toronto suburb of North York in 1956, shortly after the municipality became part of Metropolitan Toronto.

He was a staunch supporter of development and led the municipality during a period of rapid commercial, residential and infrastructure growth during the post-war population boom.

Goodhead ran for the position of Metro Chairman in 1962 but was defeated by William Allen. He remained in the position of reeve, and again challenged for the position of Metro Chairman before retiring from the reeveship and politics in 1964. He was in the midst of a controversy around conflict of interest with his garbage disposal business when he left politics. Within a decade, he became a millionaire which developed landfill sites in Scarborough and Maple, in the midst of a garbage crisis.

He was a mentor to future Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey whose mother managed Goodhead's campaigns.

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