Crombie had been elected to city council only three years earlier, previously serving as a professor at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute.

A fourth notable candidate was Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, who ran a semi-serious campaign based on law and order policies.

Crombie dominated the affluent midtown and North Toronto wards, and also carried the east end of the city.

The dominant group, commonly referred to as the 'Old Guard,' were 12 councillors who generally sided with developers and supported plans for urban renewal and new expressways.

Only four Old Guard aldermen were reelected: William Boytchuk, Joseph Piccininni, Fred Beavis, and Thomas Clifford.

Barbara Greene is elected in an upset victory after running to protest a by-law which made it illegal for unrelated roommates to share a house or apartment if the neighbourhood was zoned for single family dwellings.