Voters brave the rain to cast their ballot for Toronto's next mayor
CBC
Heavy rain and the risk of a thunderstorm made for a soggy start to election day in Toronto as voters head to the polls to elect the city's next mayor.
Polls opened at 10 a.m. in the hotly contested byelection campaign to replace scandal-departed John Tory.
It's the second mayoral election for the city since October, after Tory admitted to having an affair with a staffer and resigned just a few months into his third term.
A record 102 candidates lined up to replace him, with roughly a half-dozen names rising to the top of the field over the course of the 12-week campaign.
Former NDP parliamentarian and past city councillor Olivia Chow emerged as the frontrunner as she vies to reverse her electoral fortunes after finishing third in the 2014 mayoral race.
Ex-police chief Mark Saunders and former deputy mayor Ana Bailão have pitched themselves as the best placed candidates to challenge Chow's lead in the polls.
Rounding out the list of high-profile candidates are former Liberal provincial education minister Mitzie Hunter, city councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford, and right-wing columnist Anthony Furey.
The campaign has been headlined by issues of housing affordability, public safety and damaged municipal finances.
Whoever is elected Monday will inherit a city budget with a nearly $1-billion pandemic-related shortfall, driven partly by reduced transit revenue and increased shelter costs.
The next mayor will also inherit largely untested "strong mayor" powers, allowing them to pass budgets with just one-third council support, veto bylaws and unilaterally shape the city's top-level administration. Several leading candidates have vowed not to use those powers to overrule council.
Polls are open today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1,445 voting locations across the city.
Advance polls held earlier this month saw 129,745 people cast a ballot, an increase of 14,000 over early voting in the October election.
That election saw a record low 30 per cent voter turnout in a race where Tory cruised to a third term against a field absent of any contenders with high-profile name recognition and experience in elected office.
With a number of established candidates contesting this election, city hall watchers have speculated the winner could be elected with the lowest share of the popular vote since amalgamation. Tory's 2014 win stands at the low watermark, when he captured 40 per cent of the vote.
Jennifer Curran was diagnosed with cervical cancer five years ago while she was pregnant with her daughter.
Winnipeg's 144-year-old Manwin Hotel is burning and emergency crews have shut down a stretch of Main Street to battle the flames in the vacant building.
A tiny pest and a fungus will win eventually.
Saskatchewan farmers are keeping a close eye on China as Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a trip to the country this week.
The City of Charlottetown is considering adding three apartment buildings along Mount Edward Road near the city’s bypass highway.
A new Alberta government pilot project is hoping to address a common challenge facing citizens accessing health care in a city that straddles two provinces.
The Victoria Police Department will have officers patrolling on foot for the first time since 2022, thanks to new funding from the city.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has quietly extended its timeline by 22 years to phase out coal for "decarbonized" steelmaking, says a federal government document, aiming for 2050 instead of 2028.
In a week where President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn’t need cars made in Canada, the Dodge Charger Sixpack — made in Windsor, Ont. — is in the running to win car of the year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this morning.
An Ontario man has reached a settlement agreement with Boeing almost seven years after six of his family members died in a plane crash.
Severe weather has lead to several highway closures across northern Ontario Wednesday morning.
Several Durham police officers diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) say they believe the service isolated them from the day they went on mental health leave and has not provided them any meaningful support.
The City of Toronto’s 2026 budget offers relief many homeowners were looking for in its property tax increase, but it also lays bare the massive amount of infrastructure work hanging over the city in the coming years which, in some cases, may be deferred.