Chris Korwin-Kuczynski

Chris Korwin-Kuczynski (born 1953) is a former Canadian municipal politician. He served as a councillor in Toronto from 1981 to 2003, and was the city's deputy mayor for a time.

He was born in Toronto, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from York University. He has been a director of the Polish-Canadian Congress, and has served as a special assistant to the federal Minister of State for Multiculturalism. He ran unsuccessfully for city council in 1980 as Chris Korwin but was successful on his second attempt, in a 1981 by-election.

In 1992, Korwin-Kuczynski successfully urged that the music group Barenaked Ladies be banned from performing a concert in Nathan Phillips Square because he believed their name objectified women.[1] This decision was widely ridiculed, and gave considerable publicity to the then-obscure band.

Korwin-Kuczynski was a member of the council's right-wing, and was a frequent ally of fellow councillor Tom Jakobek.[2] Kyle Rae has suggested that Korwin-Kuczynski became isolated on council when Jakobek left in 2000.[3]

In 1993, Korwin-Kuczynski was removed as chair of the Toronto Board of Health after criticizing a strongly worded AIDS prevention pamphlet published by the AIDS Committee of Toronto.[4] He had suggested that the committee, which received significant support from Toronto's gay community, be denied city funding if it continued publishing such materials.[5] Referring to his dismissal after the vote, he commented, "[t]he only real issue I think this all stems from is AIDS, the whole issue surrounding the gay issue".[6]

Kyle Rae, who is openly gay, has said that Korwin-Kuczynski was anti-gay during the early 1990s but later changed his views. In 2003, Rae was quoted as saying, "He's now generally supportive of these issues, but that didn't come easily."[3]

He opposed a 1996 municipal bill that banned smoking in restaurants and bars, and requested that provincial Premier Mike Harris veto the measure.[7]

Korwin-Kuczynski considered running for the Liberal nomination in Parkdale—High Park in the 1997 federal election, but ultimately declined.[8] He retired from the council in 2003, amid rumours that he would move into consulting work.[9]

He endorsed Dennis Mills's bid for re-election in the 2004 federal election, and a newspaper report from the period suggest that he was considering running as a Liberal candidate in the next federal election.[10]

On September 27, 2006, he filed papers to run in the 2006 Toronto municipal election in Ward 14. However the next day he withdrew his nomination. This allowed him to retain a fundraising surplus of $21,742 left over from his last campaign. If he hadn't done this the money would have flowed into the city coffers.[11]

Korwin-Kuczynski is a former honorary captain of the Canadian Navy, and once served as a director on the board of the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.