Interactive map: Toronto’s record high turnout, by ward

The amalgamated city of Toronto hit a record high for municipal turnout Monday night, with 60.4 per cent of the electorate casting a ballot.

The 2010 election, in which bombastic councillor Rob Ford (remember him?) surged to victory, broke a record itself with a 53 per cent turnout. Turnout before 2010 had been in the 30s.

Ontario provincial elections haven’t had a turnout over 60% since the 1995 election. Turnout around 60% has been normal for recent federal elections.

Four wards had turnout over 70 per cent. Ward 32, in the Beaches, saw 71 per cent turnout.

For the most part, turnout was higher in wards that voted for winner John Tory, and lower in areas that voted for Doug Ford.

Wilfrid Laurier University politics professor Barry Kay attributes the record-high turnout to a combination of enthusiasm from fired-up Ford Nation – and fear, from others in the city, of another four years of Ford.