Mel Lastman
Melvin Douglas (Mel) Lastman, nicknamed "Mayor Mel," was mayor of North York, Ont., from 1972 to 1997. When North York was amalgamated into Toronto at the end of 1997, he ran for and won the mayorship of the new "megacity." He was re-elected in 2000 and retired in 2003. Mr. Lastman also founded the Bad Boy Furniture chain.
Bio last updated April 30th, 2018.
Articles by Mel Lastman
Showing a City How to Love
By Mel Lastman
July 1, 2012
Mel Lastman, then Mayor of Toronto, remembers World Youth Day, his encounters with Pope John Paul II, and how a Catholic priest tried to bless the ham—in Hebrew!
With young people coming from all over the world, we wanted to show them what a wonderful city Toronto is, and how well it works as a city because it is made up of people from all over the world I kept hearing about Youth Day bringing young people from all over the world into Toronto Afterwards, when people from Toronto visited him in Rome, he would always ask, "How is my little Jewish friend, the mayor?" I might have a rough time getting into Heaven, but I know a saint