2023-06-25 10:18:29
Nadine Youssef, BBC News, Toronto
2 hours ago
image copyrightValerie Howes
The Canadian city of Toronto will soon witness the mayoral elections to fill the position left by the former mayor of the city following discovering that he had an illegal relationship.
There are a large number of candidates for the position, as they numbered 102, including the dog Molly.
The six-year-old husky and owner Toby Hibbs are vying for the position on the promise to “stop salting city roads during the winter”.
“Excessive use of road salt during the winter can be damaging to the tender feet of dogs like Molly,” Hibbs says. His campaign also proposes reform of housing unaffordability, tax hikes on billion-dollar corporations, and a ban on fossil-fuel heating systems in new homes and commercial buildings.
He said he would make Molly the first honorary mayor of the city’s dogs should he win.
“I think the city council would make better decisions if there was an animal in the room,” he told the BBC.
But besides his desire for change, Hibbs said this election is an opportunity he simply cannot pass up.
It is the first by-election in Toronto’s history since seven municipalities joined to form what is known as the “megacity” 25 years ago. He announced the opening of the candidacy for the position following the resignation of John Tory, who was mayor of the city for the past eight years.
Toure’s rise to power in 2014 was hailed as replacing Rob Ford, who made international headlines for admitting to using cocaine while in office.
But Tory has been criticized for his lack of a meaningful vision for Toronto, and for his role in exacerbating inequality in one of the world’s most unaffordable cities. A column in the Toronto Star described him as “rarely inspiring and often hyper-cautious”.
He is also being blamed for bringing Toronto into a crisis point, especially as the city continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many noted the increased prevalence of gun violence, the homeless, the increase in housing prices, and violence on public transportation during his tenure.
Despite these criticisms, Toure was re-elected three times, most recently in October 2022. Only a few dozen people challenged him at that time, as he was seen as having a good chance of being re-elected, until a personal scandal forced him. On leaving office following a few months.
A February article in the Toronto Star revealed that the 68-year-old married mayor had an affair with a 31-year-old female employee during the COVID-19 pandemic. He resigned a few days following the news broke.
The upcoming June 26 by-election, following he is out of the picture, is “an open-ended race,” said Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto.
Professor Weizmann added: “The difference between last time and this time is that we don’t know who will win.”
The requirement to enter the race is remarkably simple: A $250 Canadian ($189) fee and 25 signatures are all a Toronto native needs to run for mayor.
And unlike other major cities in North America, namely New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, candidates in Toronto do not run along political party lines.
With the field so wide open, some are tempted to run just to see if they stand a chance, said Karen Chapple, dean of the College of Urbanism at the University of Toronto.
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photo comment,
Olivia Zhao is no stranger to the world of politics
“There is something of a gamble regarding it, a bit of a Las Vegas vibe,” she told the BBC.
Combined with persistently low voter turnout in the Toronto mayoral election, this means that most successful candidates really need a reasonable chance of getting their name caught.
The front runner is Olivia Chow, the political opponent of John Tory and the widow of Jack Layton, the most famous leader in the history of Canada’s left-leaning New Democratic Party.
As for many of its opponents, they are former members of the city council, and they have their own features in society.
Chappelle said the breadth and diversity of the candidates this time, from Molly the dog to an 18-year-old high school graduate, tells how fragmented the city has become.
With a population of nearly three million, including many newcomers and immigrants, Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America and is consistently cited as one of the most diverse cities in the world.
But with all these people from different walks of life comes different perspectives on what Toronto should be like.
“You see the reflection of a microcosm that represents Toronto as a city,” Chappelle said.
Meanwhile, Chloe Brown, a young policy analyst who has spent the bulk of her career working with disadvantaged communities, declared that “Toronto doesn’t need more policing,” promising instead to fund mental health support.
Experts and candidates said that having more than 100 candidates on the ballot can be both a positive and a negative thing.
First, it ensures that a range of viewpoints are heard.
But on the other hand, Chappelle said, it also means that the next mayor of Toronto is likely to be chosen by a very small percentage of the population.
“You can have a situation where it’s mainly an extremist minority that makes decisions for the city,” she added.
Hibbs, Molly’s owner, says that, with so many competitors, he knows he may not be the next mayor of Toronto. He adds that his decision to run came as a result of a conversation with his seven-year-old son.
Hibbs recalled: “I said, ‘Well, you know there’s a big chance we don’t win. How are you going to feel following that?'”
His son replied, “I’ll be angry, I’ll be sad, but I’ll be glad you tried.”
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