About Bill Steinberg

Mayor of Hampstead for 16 Years

Dr. Steinberg has been committed to serving the people of the Town of Hampstead for 16 years. He has never been nor considered himself a politician. He has always been a public servant. Even going into his last election. He was advised by many to play the smart political game and play up his many accomplishments and ignore the more controversial issues to get elected and then push his agenda. However, that goes against his ethics and beliefs. Instead he was up front about what he believes is best for the town and all its constituents. He went out the way he went in. Promises made and promises kept.

DR. WILLIAM STEINBERG – A LIFE IN HAMPSTEAD

Bill has been a resident of Hampstead for over 60 years and knows it both as a kid growing up and as a parent raising his own children in our town.

Dr. Steinberg has a BSc from McGill University, a PhD in Psychology from Northwestern University, and was a professor at Concordia University. He ran a business which specialized in survey software that measured customer satisfaction and employee morale.

Bill Steinberg is the son of the late Morris and Clara Steinberg (of the Quebec Steinberg’s grocery chain). He grew up in Hampstead on Dufferin Rd and attended Hampstead School. His siblings are Jonathan, a top Canadian bridge player, and Ivy Steinberg-Quaile, an extremely accomplished athlete (YMHA Hall of Fame, Macabee Games Medalist) and business woman.

Despite being born with a severe hearing loss, Bill has overcome it with the help of cochlear implants he received in 2004 and 2018. He is currently the President of the Cochlear Implant Recipients Association. He was instrumental in convincing the Quebec government to start doing cochlear implant surgery in Montreal. Mayor Steinberg was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Bill has also fostered relations with organizations, leaders, and members of government both in Hampstead and across Quebec and Canada.

He has been married to Dr. Doris Staniszewski-Steinberg (PhD Psychology) for 50 years. She is very engaged in volunteerism both in the Town and elsewhere (Leader of the Beautification of the town, member of the Hampstead Centennial and Adult Events Committees, Past President of the board of Friends for Mental Health, cancer research, Israel advocacy, etc.).

Their children are Tara, a lawyer in Toronto and Craig, who graduated McGill Psychology and started a website design company. Craig is very active in Hampstead as Secretary of the Centennial Committee, Adult Events Committee and the MVP program and volunteers quite a bit (CSL EMS, community safety, women’s issues, political activism, etc).

DR. STEINBERG LED THE HAMPSTEAD DEMERGER BATTLE

In the fall of 2001, Bill Steinberg took on the task of fighting to get Hampstead back, following the failure of court challenges and in the absence of any other leadership initiatives. He cared enough about Hampstead and had the determination to lead and win the demerger battle.

“The demerger happened because of two dedicated and passionate people, Doris and Bill Steinberg. It happened because Doris and Bill stood up to be counted, this when everyone else had their lips moving but forgot to roll up their sleeves to make things happen”

-Abe Gonshor, Hampstead Councillor
E-mail to the Hampstead Demerger Team, June 21, 2004

Hampstead’s First Mayor Following the Demerger

With the same dedication and passion that characterized his leadership of the demerger battle, he knocked on all 2,500 doors in Hampstead. The result was a historic underdog election victory. At the time, the post-merger Town was in a horrible state. “The roads were like that of a third world country”, to quote many residents. The sewers were overflowing and causing thousands of dollars in damage to homes that were flooded.

In his first mandate, Bill led an activist administration that delivered unprecedented improvements in all areas. As a result, he was re-elected in 2009, defeating former Councillor David Sternthal with 61% of the vote. In the next election residents re-elected him for a third term defeating former councillor Bonnie Feigenbaum with almost a 500 vote lead. Over the past 16 years he has made Hampstead one of the most desirable places on the island in which to live.

Bill has always made engagement with the Town’s residents a priority. He participates in almost every event, is reachable 7 days a week, and responds quickly to requests. He makes sure that his constituents are consulted on all major decisions and ensures that the Town’s administration keeps the public informed and up to date.