(Left to right) Jacques Deiors, Ciriaco De Mita, Margaret Thatcher; Ronald Reagan, Brian Mulroney, Francois Mitterrand, Noboru Takeshita and Helmut Kohl. Photo credit: Colin McConnell, Toronto Star, via Toronto Public Library archives.
On June 19, 1988, seven of the most powerful leaders in the free world dropped into Birch Cliff for dinner.
The dinners guests included US President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Francois Mitterand of France and others, who were all in Toronto for the G7 Economic Summit hosted by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Needless to say, it was “a very different era” according to the website The Dominion.
“In 1988, the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain still divided the world into east and west; South Africa was still under the formal rule of apartheid; and Osama Bin Laden was seen by the US as a freedom fighter,” wrote Amanda Wilson in an article published in 2010.
For those interested in the issues that were on the agenda 28 years ago, check out this piece from the CBC archives.
Why Birch Cliff?
You don’t have to think too long and hard about why some of the most famous politicians in the world would sit down for a meal in Birch Cliff. They didn’t come to check out Wimpy’s.
The dinner was hosted at The Toronto Hunt, nestled on the Scarborough Bluffs and overlooking Lake Ontario.
The Hunt Club was first established in 1843 by British army officers stationed at Fort York.
In 1895 it moved to its present location in Birch Cliff because the rural setting was an ideal place to ride horses, play polo and golf.
Once Birch Cliff started developing into a suburb, it wasn’t too long before the horses were moved north of the city and the Hunt Club became a country club that focussed on golf and socializing.
Interesting fact: Originally, the golf course consisted of 18 holes on both sides of Kingston Road. By 1937 members were tired of crossing the busy highway and sold the land north of Kingston to developers who built the neighbourhood now known as The Hunt Club.
Editors note: Apologies to historical sticklers who will read this and realize that today is not June 19th. Sorry, but it was such an interesting tidbit of local history that I decided to publish even though I’m two days late. HK.
I remember all of the limos driving past my house on Warden Ave north of Kingston road. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher both waved at me. That was something I didn’t expect to see that day as I just got back home from up north.