Ron Searle

{{Short description|English-born Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician}} {{Use Canadian English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{for|the cartoonist and illustrator|Ronald Searle}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Ron Searle | image = | caption = | order = 4th Mayor of Mississauga | term_start = 1976 | term_end = 1978 | predecessor = Martin Dobkin | successor = Hazel McCallion | birth_name = Ronald Alfred Searle | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|7|19}} | birth_place = Southampton, Hampshire, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2015|8|29|1919|7|19}} | death_place = Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | spouse = {{marriage|Mollie Searle|1949|1999}} | children = 1 | profession = Publisher | nickname = | allegiance = Canada | branch = Canadian Army | service_years = 1939-1945 | rank = Sergeant<ref name="qeii golden jub medal">{{cite web|title=Searle, Sergeant Ronald Alfred, (Ret'd)|url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=33801&t=6|website=Honours Recipients|publisher=Office of the Secretary to the Governor General of Canada|accessdate=9 September 2015}}</ref> | unit = Toronto Scottish Regiment | commands = | battles = | mawards = }}

'''Ronald Alfred Searle''' (July 19, 1919 – August 29, 2015) was an English-born Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician who served as the fourth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario from 1976 to 1978.

==Early life== {{more citations needed section|date=September 2015}} Ronald Alfred Searle was born in Southampton, England, to Ruby and Theodore Searle on July 19, 1919.<ref name=heritage-miss>{{cite web|title=Searle, Ronald Alfred|url=http://www.heritagemississauga.com/page/Ronald-Alfred-Searle|website=Heritage Profiles|publisher=Heritage Mississauga|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020083701/https://heritagemississauga.com/page/Ronald-Alfred-Searle |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |access-date=September 9, 2015}}</ref> His mother was a seamstress and his father was a purser with the White Star Line and a seaman with the Royal Navy during World War I. The family relocated to Toronto, where the family had relatives.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

===Military career=== After joining the Toronto Scottish militia in the mid-1930s, Searle later signed up with the Toronto Scottish Regiment immediately upon Canada declaring war against Nazi Germany in September 1939. During World War II, Searle landed twice in France, once at Brest and once at Normandy. He was later wounded at Falaise in Ardennes when he took three machine gun bullets to his leg.<ref name=torstar-obit />

===Post-war life and family=== After the war he began a career in magazine publishing.<ref name=missnews-obit>{{cite news|last1=Chriscione|first1=Peter|title='Good mayor' and 'gentleman' Ron Searle dead at 96|url=http://www.mississauga.com/news-story/5824587--good-mayor-and-gentleman-ron-searle-dead-at-96/|accessdate=9 September 2015|work=Mississauga News|date=2 September 2015}}</ref> On December 10, 1949, he married his wife, Mollie, and together they raised one son, Mark William Searle.<ref name=heritage-miss /> The Searles were married for 50 years until Mollie Searle's death in 1999.<ref name=missnews-obit />

==Political career== Searle first entered politics when he was elected president of the Orchard Heights Homeowners Association in 1959.<ref name=torstar-obit>{{cite news|last1=Corbeil|first1=Laurent Bastien|title=Ron Searle, former mayor of Mississauga, was an early advocate for affordable housing|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/09/07/ron-searle-former-mayor-of-mississauga-was-an-early-advocate-for-affordable-housing.html|accessdate=9 September 2015|work=Toronto Star|date=9 September 2015}}</ref>

In 1962, he was elected to the Mississauga town council and served for fourteen years.<ref name=missnews-obit/> While on council, Searle fiercely debated with sitting mayor Martin Dobkin in both municipal and regional council meetings on many issues, including increased municipal funding for child care and legal aid.<ref name=torstar-obit /> Dobkin, who referred to Searle as "the official leader of the opposition", noted that despite the political opposition, the two enjoyed a friendly personal relationship.<ref name=missnews-obit />

Searle was elected mayor in 1976 amid a corruption scandal in the municipal government and a massive real estate boom throughout the city. With increased home prices driving lower-income citizens out of Mississauga, Searle made affordable housing a central issue of his administration and told a reporter for the ''Toronto Star'' shortly after his electoral victory that "[his] concern for [affordable housing] overrides all other concerns."<ref name=torstar-obit /> Throughout his term in office, he lobbied for cheaper homes and opposed the federal government's cuts to housing grants.<ref name=torstar-obit/>

Searle ran for re-election at the end of his term in 1978, but lost to former Streetsville mayor Hazel McCallion with a final tally of 28,005 to 25,029 votes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plain talk in Mississauga wins Hazel mayor's job |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=November 14, 1978 |page=A14}}</ref> He later made another unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty in 1982, but was defeated by McCallion again.<ref name=torstar-obit />

While still a councillor, Searle also ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Peel in the 1965 federal election. He finished a distant second to Liberal candidate Bruce Beer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Peel, Ontario (1867-1968)|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/FederalRidingsHistory/hfer.asp?Language=E&Search=Det&Include=Y&rid=538|website=History of Federal Ridings since 1867|publisher=Library of Parliament|accessdate=9 September 2015}}</ref>

==Later life and death== Following his failed 1982 election bid, Searle remained active in the community. He would often represent homeowners' interests at city hall,<ref name=torstar-obit /> and was a frequent participant in veterans' events and events at the Port Credit Yacht Club.<ref name=missnews-obit />

In 2007 he was highly critical of Tim Peterson's installation as the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidate for Mississauga South after crossing the floor from the Ontario Liberal Party, remarking that the process was "a violation of the democratic principles the [Progressive] Conservative Party has stood for over the years".<ref>{{cite web |title=A nomination like no other |author=John Stewart |date=June 19, 2007 |url=http://www.mississaugablogs.com/2007/06/a_nomination_like_no_other.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905110141/http://www.mississaugablogs.com/2007/06/a_nomination_like_no_other.html |archivedate=September 5, 2008}}</ref>

In late August 2015, Searle was admitted to Mississauga Hospital for pneumonia.<ref name=torstar-obit /> He died in hospital on August 29, 2015, at the age of 96.<ref name=missnews-obit /> The City of Mississauga set up an official book of condolences at the Mississauga Civic Centre and lowered the flags at all city-owned buildings in his honour from August 29 to September 11, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=City of Mississauga Honours Ron Searle 1919 - 2015|url=http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/pressreleases?paf_gear_id=9700020&itemId=5000670q|website=Newsroom|publisher=City of Mississauga|accessdate=9 September 2015|date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

==Honours== The following honours were conferred on Searle: * {{flagicon|Canada}} Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal<ref name="qeii golden jub medal" /><ref name=heritage-miss /> * {{flagicon|Canada}} Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal<ref>{{cite web|title=Searle, Ronald|url=http://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=207348&t=13|website=Honours Recipients|accessdate=9 September 2015|publisher=Office of the Secretary to the Governor General of Canada}}</ref> * {{flagicon|France}} Legion of Honour<ref name=torstar-obit />

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [http://www.heritagemississauga.com/page/Ronald-Alfred-Searle Profile at Heritage Mississauga]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Searle, Ron}} Category:1919 births Category:2015 deaths Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario Category:British emigrants to Canada Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II Category:Canadian Army soldiers Category:Candidates in the 1965 Canadian federal election Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario Category:Mayors of Mississauga Category:Military personnel from Southampton Category:Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour