Vernon Singer

Vernon Milton Singer (March 26, 1919 – September 20, 2003) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1959 to 1977 who represented the North York ridings of York Centre, Downsview and Wilson Heights. Background Singer was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of lawyer and politician Joseph Singer who was the first Jewish-Canadian to be elected to the Toronto Board of Control. After serving in World War II with the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Singer returned to Canada and became president of the Young Liberals in 1947. He worked for a while as a lawyer before entering politics. He and his wife Elaine had three children. Politics He became a councillor in North York, Ontario eventually becoming reeve from 1957 to 1958. He ran for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party at the 1958 Ontario Liberal leadership convention, placing fourth. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1959 provincial election. Singer became deputy leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and, as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), pushed for reforms to municipal law, automobile insurance and electoral laws as well as for the establishment of a provincial ombudsman.