Elections in Ontario | John Tory re-elected mayor of Toronto

(Toronto) Ontario voters from different municipalities went to the polls on Monday to choose the elected officials who will form their next city council. Mayors of some of Ontario’s largest cities have been re-elected as municipalities post the first results of their elections.

John Tory won a third term as mayor of Toronto. He thanked residents on Monday for handing him a strong third term as mayor of Canada’s most populous city, after a campaign that saw him tout his years of experience leading Toronto.

Mr Tory, 68, beat 30 mostly unknown candidates after many people criticized his record on public transport and housing – two issues he has highlighted as priorities he wants to continue to push on. work.

“We have unfinished business that I am absolutely determined to see through,” he said in his election night speech.

Bonnie Crombie got another win in Mississauga and Patrick Brown was re-elected mayor of Brampton.

Ottawa has a new mayor, former journalist Mark Sutcliffe, who defeated City Councilor Catherine McKenney. The outgoing mayor, Jim Watson, did not seek a new mandate.

Mr Sutcliffe, 54, beat 13 other candidates, including Mr^me McKenney, who rose to national prominence during the “freedom convoy” demonstration in February, and former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli.

The former journalist walked in to the cheers of hundreds of supporters on election night. In his speech, he expressed his gratitude to his family and supporters.

“I am especially grateful to the tens of thousands of people who support our vision for Ottawa’s future,” he said.

Tight races

For now, former Liberal leader Steven Del Duca is in a tight race in Vaughan, neck and neck with city councilor Sandra Yeung Racco.

Mr. Del Duca was a provincial party leader and he resigned after the June election in Ontario. He is on the ballot in Vaughan after stepping down as Liberal leader when he failed to win party status or his own legislative seat.

In Hamilton, former New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Andrea Horwath is running for mayor. The race is tight between M^me Horwath and the former president and CEO of the city’s Chamber of Commerce.

London was also set to have a new mayor, with Ed Holder refusing to run again. Josh Morgan, a councilor and deputy mayor, was comfortably ahead in early results over former London-Fanshawe MP Khalil Ramal.

In nearby Woodstock, the incumbent mayor, who faces six sexual assault charges against two women, suffered a massive defeat. Trevor Birtch collected only 305 votes, placing himself in fourth position – far behind the 3,612 votes of Jerry Acchione, the victorious candidate.

Ken Boshcoff, former mayor of Thunder Bay, was leading the early results to run that city again. In the town of Milton in the Greater Toronto Area, Gord Krantz, believed to be Canada’s longest-serving mayor, won a 14^e mandate.

Polls in Toronto and other major cities opened at 10 a.m. and most closed at 8 p.m., with variations in some areas.

Residents of many municipalities also had the option of voting online or in advance. The last municipal election in Ontario dates back to 2018.

The province recently granted new powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa in a bid to build housing faster, but Mr. Sutcliffe and Mr.^me Both McKenney said they did not favor such a veto over the city council.

Figures from the Association of Municipalities indicate that there are 6,306 candidates running for a total of 2,860 municipal seats across the province.

Nearly a third of the candidates in the running are women, compared to 27% in 2018.

Coronations were up 15% from four years ago, with 548 people elected unopposed to the positions of councillor, mayor and prefect.

Online and telephone voting is also more widespread this time around, with 217 municipalities using these options in some form, up from 175 in 2018.

Voter turnout in 2018 was 38.3%, the lowest municipal turnout since 1982.