Election day is June 26 for Toronto’s Mayoral Election of 2023.
Guest Blog by Xia (Alice) Zhu.
This year’s mayoral race features a staggering 102 candidates, all trying to show why they deserve to be the face of Canada’s largest city.
There are many things at stake. Smoke from wildfires recently closed in on the city, creating air quality and visibility issues for residents. The fate of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT hangs in the balance. The incidents of police brutality and homeless encampment evictions are fresh on Torontonians’ minds. Skyrocketing housing prices are making it very difficult for individuals and families to find affordable housing. And we have yet to see how our future mayor will use the newly introduced “strong mayor powers” recently granted by Doug Ford’s government.
The Local’s Candidate Tracker 2023, The Globe and Mail, and CTV News Toronto have summarized the platforms and promises of leading mayoral candidates on major issues affecting Toronto today. Toronto Environmental Alliance has also compiled a great summary of each candidates’ stance on environmental issues including climate action, public transportation, and waste.
Below is a brief summary of information collected from the resources above.
Olivia Chow: a long-time politician and activist who served as a Toronto city councillor from 1991-2005 and NDP MP for Trinity-Spadina from 2006-2014, Olivia Chow is known to many as a a progressive voice, advocating for improved transit, rights for immigrants and refugees, and for children. If elected, Chow pledged not to use strong mayor powers to override the majority will of City Council. Chow has promised to fight the provincial government’s plans to construct a spa in Ontario Place.
Brad Bradford: the councillor for Ward 19 Beaches-East York since 2018, Bradford has a history of voting 93% of the time with John Tory. Earlier this year, Bradford voted against redirecting $900,000 from the police budget to the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration budget. In 2022, he put forward a motion to improve the city’s Vision Zero program by reviewing road safety criteria and considering the addition of more road safety improvements.
Josh Matlow: the city councillor for Ward 12 since 2010 and a TDSB trustee before that, Matlow promised to add a new 2-percent levy on property tax to help fix struggling city services. Matlow consistently opposes expensive but politically advantageous projects including the Scarborough subway, Gardiner East, and SmartTrack. He was very critical of the City’s crackdown on unhoused people camping in parks. He advocates for improved supports for tenants and for introducing a commercial parking lot levy to fund Toronto’s climate policies.
Anthony Furey: Vice President of editorial and content at True North, a right-wing media outlet, Furey says he will focus on the treatment of people struggling with addiction, and attributes violence on the TTC in large part to drug use. He says he would remove encampments and increase police presence in all parks. Furey says he would tear up bike lanes on University Avenue and cancel plans for dedicated bike lanes on Sheppard, Eglinton, Bloor Street West, and Kingston Road.
Mitzie Hunter: the Liberal MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood since 2013 and Minister of Education from 2016-2018 with the Liberal government, Hunter says the safety of Torontonians would be her priority as Mayor if elected. Hunter said she would not use strong mayor powers if elected. Hunter has released a climate plan that focuses on protecting Torontonians from residential floods and extreme weather conditions.
Mark Saunders: a former Toronto Police Chief, Saunders was seen by many during his tenure as disregarding the concerns and needs of marginalized communities in the city, in particular Black and LGBTQ+ people. Saunders has previously defended the practice of carding, and did not meet with Black Lives Matter activists regarding numerous incidents of police brutality. Saunders says he would adopt a zero-tolerance policy for used needle disposal in areas around supervised injection sites. His TTC Safety Plan states that he will increase the number of special constables to at least 200.
Ana Bailao: the city councillor for Davenport from 2010-2022, Bailao was a central member of the Tory government and voted with John Tory 87.5% of the time. She has increasingly voted with Tory in recent years. In the past, she has voted against raising property taxes and reducing police budgets. Her platform mentions making a dedicated bus lane for Scarborough transit users, investing in a $2 million Community Partnership and Investment Program that will serve communities in need, and making vacant city spaces accessible for community gardens and food banks. Bailao says she will not use strong mayor powers to pass bylaws without support of majority of the council.
Who should our next mayor be? Which one of these candidates can protect our city, keep it healthy and just, and lead us out of the smoke? It’s up to us to decide. See you at the polls!
Photo from CTV. Left to right – above: Ana Bailao, Olivia Chow, Josh Matlow – below: Mark Saunders, Mitzie Hunter, Brad Bradford
Bio of author:
Alice (Xia) Zhu is a fourth-year PhD student at the University of Toronto studying plastic pollution and
climate change. She has been a member of People’s Climate Movement since 2015.
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