Olivia Chow has been declared winner of Toronto’s byelection and its next mayor.
The majority of polls closed at 8 p.m. Monday, signalling the end of the crowded, 102-candidate race to replace John Tory in Toronto’s top job. A handful of voting locations extended their hours to make up for earlier interruptions.
As the results rolled in, a close race played out between Chow and former councillor Ana Bailão. The latter ultimately finished in second place after all polls were declared, with former police chief Mark Saunders in third. Other top-polling candidates, including Josh Matlow, Anthony Furey, Mitzie Hunter and Brad Bradford, finished significantly lower in the race.
The results posted by Global News show how many votes each candidate receives, the percentage, and how many polls are reporting. Data can be sorted for Toronto as a whole or by a specific ward.
Full coverage and reaction when a new mayor is selected can be found by on the Toronto election page at globalnews.ca.
John Tory’s resignation
The byelection comes after former mayor John Tory made a stunning admission in February to having an “inappropriate relationship” with a former member of his staff. During that last-minute Friday night press conference, Tory abruptly announced his intention to step down from the top job.
Tory had just entered his third term as mayor after the 2022 municipal elections were held across Ontario on Oct. 24. He was first elected by Torontonians in 2014.
He had made his admission on Feb. 10 but did not immediately file his resignation papers and instead stayed on for almost a week to see the City’s budget plan pass through city council. After it passed during the very late hours on Feb. 15, he submitted his official papers to leave his post as mayor. The resignation took effect two days later after a transition period with deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie.
McKelvie then took the reins as mayor as the top job became vacant while the City planned for a byelection to find the next mayor of Toronto on June 26.
The race to become mayor
Several polls, including an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News, suggested mayoral candidate Olivia Chow remained the frontrunner in the final stretch of the campaign with a seemingly unassailable lead.
The polling, completed between June 9 and June 13, showed Chow was positioned well in front of every other candidate in the race at 38 per cent of the popular vote.
Mark Saunders was in second place with 14 per cent of the popular vote while Ana Bailão had 12 per cent, the poll found.
The other candidates would receive less than 10 per cent of the popular vote each: Josh Matlow (eight per cent), Anthony Furey (seven per cent), Mitzie Hunter and Brad Bradford (both six per cent).
The top five issues Torontonians have been concerned with during the campaign are housing affordability, cost of living, crime and safety, spending taxpayers’ money wisely, and public transit.
Other top issues for voters include homelessness, controlling taxes, traffic congestion, economy and jobs, city finance and budget, social services and fighting climate change.
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