Toronto: citizens will go to the polls today to elect the new city council
A tumultuous municipal election campaign will end this evening when the citizens of Toronto will elect a city council significantly smaller than in previous years.
A decision by Ford’s government to reduce the size of the council from the planned 47 districts to only 25 plunged the city into chaos for several weeks, leaving many candidates in limbo and forcing the city clerk to prepare for two different electoral scenarios.
The reduction of the departments has also put against several councilors looming against each other in various areas of the city and has even pushed some to abandon the race altogether.
Keesmaat, who was very critical of Tory’s leadership and his plans for the city, presented a progressive plan for the city, promising to build a center relief line by 2028 and building 100,000 new housing units at prices accessible in 10 years.
Tory promised to build on his work and his previous council on major transit projects and said that his goal of building 40,000 new housing units at affordable prices in the next decade is more realistic.
The polls have suggested that the battle for the mayor’s chair is not up close, with Tory maintaining a solid lead over Keesmaat for months.
Keesmaat led Tory by 35 points in the last pre-election poll published by Dart Insight on Friday.
But in the city’s neighborhoods, recent survey data show tight emerging tenders among many current councilors, including Josh Matlow and Joe Mihevc in Toronto-St. Paul’s, Anthony Perruzza and Giorgio Mammoliti in Humber River-Black Creek and Norm Kelly and Jim Karygiannis in Scarborough-Agincourt.
Ford’s decision also forced his nephew, Michael Ford, to hire another incumbent, Vincent Crisanti, in the Etobicoke North department.
The polls are open on Monday from 10:00 to 20:00.
