Race to replace Mike Layton as University-Rosedale councillor a battle of progressives

Voters looking for a spiritual successor to outgoing city councillor and progressive stalwart Mike Layton have a wealth of options to choose from.

Three high-profile candidates with left-leaning credentials are among 12 council hopefuls battling it out to represent Ward 11, University-Rosedale — one of seven seats where there's no incumbent in the running.

One of the best known is Ontario's former environment commissioner, Dianne Saxe. Also running are Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Norm Di Pasquale and Robin Buxton Potts, who was appointed interim councillor for the nearby Toronto-Centre ward this summer.

While their platforms emphasize similar issues — housing affordability, climate change, strong communities and better city services — each has a unique background they say makes them the ideal candidate.

University-Rosedale is a diverse downtown ward that includes Rosedale and Yorkville — two of Toronto's wealthiest neighbourhoods — alongside the Annex, Little Italy, Kensington Market and the University of Toronto campus.

According to Canadian census data from 2021, the ward's population is 106,216, just 1.8 per cent higher than 2016. The average annual household income is more than $170,000, but around 17 per cent of residents make less than $20,000.

Saxe arrived to canvass in the neighbourhood around the Rosedale United Church last Thursday on her bicycle, wearing a helmet, a bright yellow pinny emblazoned with her name and sturdy hiking shoes.

Alongside two volunteers with matching pinnies, she went door-to-door, pitching voters on why they should choose her.

"I've been knocking on doors and talking with voters for most of the last two years," said Saxe, who placed fourth when she ran in University-Rosedale during this year's provincial election for the Ontario Green Party. She's temporarily stepped down as the party's deputy leader to run for council. 

As Ontario's environmental watchdog between 2015 and 2019, she was an influential critic of the Ford government before the government folded the office into the auditor general's office.

"I really got to look closely at what's coming. We have a very short window to make it better and if we don't it's going to be awful," she said.

"We need a climate champion on council. And right now, there isn't one."

Saxe said she'll help ramp up the city's action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making infrastructure resilient to climate change. She'll also push for the building of "15-minute communities," where it's safe and easy to walk, ride bikes or take transit to nearby amenities.

Di Pasquale, who first gained notoriety as the leader of a grassroots campaign to ban jets from Toronto's island airport, said he's hearing from residents that the lack of affordable housing is pushing people out of the neighbourhood.