Toronto’s Mayor John Tory was re-elected yesterday with an astounding 63.5 per cent of the vote, a major increase from his 2014 win, with just 40 per cent.
In that election he defeated the infamous, but popular with many, the late Rob Ford.
Toronto is the capital of Ontario, the province with the largest share of Canada’s population, at over 38 per cent.
“80 per cent of the population of Canada live in cities”
Professor Mitchell Kosny is the interim director at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson in Toronto. He says “it’s pretty hard to beat an incumbent”.
But John Tory has been a steadying influence in Canada’s biggest city, the place so often proudly proclaimed as the world’s most ethnically diverse.
While there’s much to celebrate in Toronto, the everyday lives of citizens can be challenging.
The crippling combination of inadequate affordable housing and grid-locked transportation systems, leave a lot to be desired.
Toronto Mayor John Tory and wife Barbara Hackett acknowledge supporters after he was re-elected in the Ontario municipal election in Toronto, on Monday, October 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Professor Kosny says it’s time for Mayor Tory to step up and tackle these challenges.
“You know 80 per cent of the population of Canada live in cities” Kosny says.
He says it’s where the money, the wealth, and the people are, but just 30 per cent vote.
“Let’s get on with it!”
“He’s gotta be prepared to take some tough stances” Kosny says of John Tory in this mandate.
A clear transportation plan with a relief line or a subway extension, a mandatory 25 per cent of new housing development dedicated to affordable accommodation, and a luxury tax on the properties of the affluent, these are some of the suggestions that have been talked about.
“Let’s get on with it!” Professor Kosny says. “We’ve been talking about this stuff for three, four years, so quit talking, we got a mandate, run with it, and make a couple of bold steps there.”
Meanwhile, municipal elections took place yesterday, across the rest of the province, to chose mayors, councils, and school board trustees.
Patrick Brown, the former leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party, was elected as the mayor of Brampton, a suburban city just west of Toronto.
An amazing political comeback for Brown who had been ousted by forces within the Progressive Conservative party in January of this year, following accusations of sexual misconduct that he vigorously denied.
He eventually stepped out of the provincial political ring, but many will be watching with renewed interest, his work at the municipal level.
And a new computerised voting system, left some communities in limbo. Sudbury, Huntsville and Muskoka were beset by snafus that will be worked out and produce final results by 8 pm this evening.
