Ontarians are called to the polls on Monday in the municipal elections. Candidates from the province’s two largest cities — Toronto and Ottawa — will wind down campaigns taking place down under, while elsewhere in Ontario, two former provincial party leaders will attempt to pursue careers in municipal politics.
The election campaign in the Canadian capital between Catherine McKenney and Mark Sutcliffe has aroused passions, and the election promises to be one of the most interesting. Catherine McKenney, who identifies as non-binary and was on city council, had a nearly 20 percentage point lead over her main opponent in July, but that has since narrowed. Four percentage points now separate the candidates. Both are seeking to replace Jim Watson, mayor in office since 2010.
The campaign pitted rural and urban Ottawans, progressives against centrists, and even francophones. 1er october, The duty revealed that a group of influential Franco-Ottavians, led among others by lawyer Ronald Caza, had organized a fundraiser for Mark Sutcliffe, one of the only bilingual candidates in the race. The invitation had been launched even before the former journalist presented a platform for the protection of French.
In his platform, much more substantial than that of his opponent, Mark Sutcliffe promises to “work to strengthen the bilingualism policy”, the text governing Francophone life in Ottawa. This has not been strengthened since its legislative entrenchment in 2017. Catherine McKenney, who is unable to conduct interviews in French, promises to carry out an audit to determine the flaws in the services provided in French by the City of Ottawa.
On October 19, some twenty French-speaking activists nonetheless signed a letter supporting the candidacy of Catherine McKenney. “Catherine puts forward tangible proposals to improve municipal services so that they meet the needs of Francophones”. The day before, the Press Progress website, founded by the Broadbent Institute, noted that in a column signed in 2006, Mark Sutcliffe suggested that the City of Ottawa should stop funding the Festival franco-ontarien.
However, the election will not be decided solely in terms of the Francophonie. Catherine McKenney wants to invest $250 million in the construction of bike paths through green bonds. Mark Sutcliffe denounced the lack of balance in his plan. “Bike lanes won’t get you to the grocery store,” he said. The management of police services is also divisive. On city council, Catherine McKenney has already voted to divest, which drew criticism from the police union during the campaign. Mark Sutcliffe wants to increase the police budget.
Shy campaign in Toronto
The mayoral race in Toronto has not made as many waves, with incumbent Mayor John Tory having participated in only two debates. The one who has held the position since 2014 started the campaign in a leading position and was never really threatened, collecting around 56% of the voting intentions. Although he entered the race rather late, his main opponent, the internationally renowned urban planner Gil Penalosa, has the support of 20% of the electorate. In interview with The dutythe latter confided that he would have liked to see the mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante at the head of the Queen City.
The housing crisis in Toronto is one of the key issues for the electorate. According to the October monthly report from Rentals.ca, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in the Queen City is $2,474, compared to $1,532 in Montreal. John Tory promises to increase the number of “missing middle” units, the term used in Toronto to describe duplexes and triplexes, for example. As for him, Gil Penalosa wants to put an end to the type of zoning that only allows the construction of single-family homes.
Toronto’s next mayor will take office with increased powers granted by the province in September. Starting in November, a week after the election, the mayors of Toronto and other major cities, including Ottawa, will be able to veto a regulation that interferes with provincial priorities, such as the construction of 1.5 million homes in 10 years. Thanks to his new powers, the mayor of Toronto will also be able to prepare the budget himself.
Ford opponents in the race
Just four months after losing the provincial election, former leaders of the Ontario NDP and Liberal Party, Andrea Horwath and Steven Del Duca, could benefit from these new “superpowers”. The former is running for mayor of Hamilton, the province’s fifth-largest city, while the latter is vying for the job in Vaughan, a town north of Toronto known for the Canada’s Wonderland amusement park.
For now, only the mayors of the cities of Toronto and Ottawa will get these powers, but Premier Doug Ford, who won the June election, has hinted that other large municipalities will have this authority. According to the Toronto Star, Hamilton and Vaughan would be in the mix. Steven Del Duca holds a healthy 10 percentage point lead over his opponent, while Andrea Horwath, a former Hamilton city councilor, has a lead of around eight points.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.