See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Howard Moscoe, a former Toronto Transit Commission chair and city councillor, has died. He was 86.
Visit newsbetting.club for more information.
In response to his death on Saturday, Mayor Olivia Chow stated he was a “friend to many people in the Toronto area and beyond.”
“Howard’s contribution to a better Toronto has been enormous,” Chow wrote on X . “The memory of Howard Moscoe is a blessing to us all. Rest in Peace, dear colleague and friend.”
Political career spanned three decades
Born on Nov. 28, 1939, Moscoe was a high school art teacher in North York before he entered the world of politics, Chow said. He was the president of the North York Teachers’ Federation and governor of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.
“His art background later fed a very successful election sign business,” she wrote.
Moscoe first dabbled in politics as a member of the provincial New Democratic Party, running three times to become MPP in the Wilson Heights riding.
He later became a North York alderman before serving as Metro councillor and later Toronto city councillor before retiring in 2010 while representing the Eglinton-Lawrence riding.
It is with sadness that I am letting the community know of the death of Howard Moscoe – my former Councillor colleague for many years, and friend to many people in the Toronto area and beyond.
— Mayor Olivia Chow 🇨🇦 (@MayorOliviaChow) May 23, 2026
Howard was born on November 28, 1939. His working life started as a high school art…
As a city politician, Chow said Moscoe was a big proponent in promoting a municipal housing corporation in North York in supporting rent geared to income housing. Moscoe also attended rallies against the apartheid regime in South Africa and supported human rights efforts in Nigeria in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, Moscoe was an early supporter of LGBTQIA+ issues at the TTC when the community sought advertising space on TTV vehicles.
Moscoe also supported the move to upload the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway to the province, Chow said.
The TTC’s first chair
In 1997, Moscoe became the first chair of the TTC when the city amalgamated.
“Building a vibrant public transit infrastructure and promoting ridership growth were his key passions,” Chow said, noting Moscoe had an encyclopedic memory of the content he brought to council and TTC meetings.
Chow said he was keen on advocating for the Wheeltrans community and taxi drivers. He was also instrumental in the purchase of the new subway trains built in Thunder Bay that currently operate on Line 1.
The TTC will be lowering flags to half-mast across its properties to honour Moscoe, it announced on social media.
“On behalf of all TTC employees, we extend our condolences to Mr. Moscoe’s family and friends during this difficult time,” the TTC wrote, while noting all the projects Moscoe was involved while serving as TTC chair.
“Mr. Moscoe took the helm at the TTC during a very challenging and complex year for the new amalgamated City of Toronto. Under Mr. Moscoe’s first term as Chair, the TTC broke ground on the new Queens Quay streetcar line that would connect Union Station with Exhibition Place; began construction on the Sheppard Subway, as well as started building the new Transit Control Centre at Hillcrest Complex,” the TTC said on X.
“During his second term as Chair, Mr. Moscoe helped steer the TTC through the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis and North America’s largest electricity blackout affecting 50 million people across the North Eastern Seaboard, both of which caused significant declines in ridership. Under his tenure, the TTC introduced its Ridership Growth Strategy in 2003, a blueprint for transit investment for the decade that followed, which saw the system grow ridership to more than half a billion riders annually.”
‘Tenacious fighter for social justice’
Chow said his city council colleagues will remember Moscoe as a “tenacious fighter for social justice, whether it was people living with disabilities, tenants, people without homes, transit users, and so many equity-deserving communities.”
“He never attacked people personally but would debate urban policy with great enthusiasm, and frequent humour,” said Chow, noting while Moscoe was “mischievous from time to time,” he was committed to “struggle for a fair, just and equitable Toronto.”
“He did it all in a ‘larger than life’ manner which made him a complete pleasure to work with on Council,” said the mayor.
Wrote his own eulogy
NDP Leader Marit Stiles paid tribute to Moscoe by quoting a line from his 2022 book, “Call Me Pisher: A Madcap Romp Through City Hall.”
Moscoe wrote his own eulogy in the tome, with the opening of Chapter 100: “I’m sorry you came to my funeral. I was hoping to be at yours.”
“Of course he wrote his own. Howard never let anyone else put words in his mouth, and he wasn’t about to start now,” Stiles wrote in a Facebook post.
“For more than 30 years he said the things other politicians wouldn’t, and he fought for the people this city was content to overlook. Tenants. Transit riders. Anyone who needed someone loud in their corner.”
Stiles then sent condolences to his wife, three daughters, and grandchildren.
Colle calls Moscoe ‘political dynamo’
In a Facebook post , Councillor Mike Colle called Moscoe an “Amazing Master of City Politics in Toronto for a half Century.”
Colle said there was never a more “innovative, clever, intelligent plus darn right hard working” politician than Moscoe. The Eglinton-Lawrence councillor wrote that Moscoe worked 24 hours a day, seven days of week to help people, while also “scheming to drive Mel Lastman crazy.”
“That’s the person that Howard was,” he said.
From the taxi industry to helping tenants and the TTC, Colle said Moscoe “took on the most complex files” as if they were “the most important thing in the world.”
“What a legendary public servant and political dynamo,” said Colle. “You were the very best Howard and you made all of us better and you made this a better place.”
‘Champion for the little guy’
Humber River-Black Creek Coun. Anthony Perruzza called Moscoe a “friend and mentor” and that he was a “true champion for the little guy.”
“He believed deeply in fairness, compassion, and standing up for those whose voices were too often overlooked,” Perruzza wrote on X.
“Beyond being a consummate politician, he was a loyal friend, a devoted husband, and a loving father to his three daughters. His legacy will live on not only through the work he did for others, but through the family he cherished so deeply.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, daughters, family, friends, and all those whose lives he touched. I will miss him dearly,”
Today I learned of the passing of my friend and mentor, Howard Moscoe, a dedicated City Councillor and a true champion for the little guy. He believed deeply in fairness, compassion, and standing up for those whose voices were too often overlooked.
— Anthony Perruzza (@PerruzzaTO) May 23, 2026
My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, daughters, family, friends, and all those whose lives he touched. I will miss him dearly. Rest in peace my friend.
— Anthony Perruzza (@PerruzzaTO) May 23, 2026
Bradford says ‘larger-than life personality’
On X, Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford also paid tribute to Moscoe, stating he was a “larger-than-life personality with many strong views.”
“I had the pleasure of meeting him during my time as a TTC commissioner, and his warmth and gregariousness left a lasting impression,” said Bradford. “Howard was deeply involved in Toronto’s Jewish community, and his absence will be felt across the city. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. May his memory be a blessing.”
Howard Moscoe was a larger-than-life personality with many strong views. I had the pleasure of meeting him during my time as a TTC commissioner, and his warmth and gregariousness left a lasting impression.
— Brad Bradford (@BradMBradford) May 23, 2026
Howard was deeply involved in Toronto’s Jewish community, and his…