John Tory kicked his mayoral campaign into high gear Sunday morning. Supporters were chanting his name, calling for ‘four more years’ as he entered a studio for a live event in Liberty Village in Toronto.
“People from around the world look up to us as a city that gets it right,” Tory told the crowd.
The town hall-style speech addressed key issues plaguing the city of Toronto, with affordable housing, job creation, and gun violence topping the list. His position on many of those issues struck a meaningful chord with teenagers in the audience.
This is the first municipal election in which Megan Cheng will be eligible to vote.
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Trevin Wellington was one of four people who were able to ask the incumbent a direct question. Wellington is especially concerned with the level of gun violence happening across city.
“Gun violence is a very detailed problem it’s not something that can be fixed right away,” 16-year-old Wellington said. “I feel like his plan for the long-term future is what we need.
When it came to transit, Tory had some pointed words for his opponent, Jennifer Keesmaat.
Keesmaat worked as the chief city planner for Toronto in 2012, and was in that role when John Tory was elected mayor of the city.
“The first thing we did was introduce a plan and get council to agree on it and approve it,” Tory said, addressing his record in office.
“Even my opponent described her enthusiasm for that plan and took some credit for it, and I’m fine with that, though it doesn’t square with all of the criticism we hear today now that she’s suddenly decided she wants to be mayor.”
Keesmaat didn’t hesitate defending her record and position when it comes to getting the city moving. She said she was the one to bring forward the innovative plan.
“He was a passenger on all of that planning,” Keesmaat said. “His vision was Smart Track his plan was smart Track and he needs to be held accountable for that plan.”
The last municipal election saw a record high when it came to voter turnout. Roughly 60 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
Tory won the race and the popular vote by more than 64,000 votes.
When it comes to closing the gap in the polls this time around, Keesmaat says she looks forward to debating Tory face to face.
“There is a tremendous amount of momentum, and we also know that a lot of Torontonians are undecided and that just points to the fact that we need to have debates,” Keesmaat said. “Getting the options in front of Torontonians is a really important part of blowing this campaign wide open.”
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