Ex-police chief Mark Saunders bets on tough-on-crime pitch for Toronto mayoral race

When Mark Saunders launched his bid for mayor of Toronto, the former police chief positioned himself as the only candidate who could save a city plagued by “out-of-control” lawlessness.

Canada’s most populous city is a “broken” metropolis, he warned, and only a tough-on-crime mayor could turn things around.

“Crime and disorder reigns on our streets, on TTC and in our parks. It’s everywhere, it’s a crisis,” Saunders said in a campaign video.

“This election is a choice between crime and chaos versus law and order.”

The former police officer of nearly 38 years — five of which he spent as police chief — has staked his mayoral campaign on a lone premise: that his experience as the city’s top cop can save Toronto from what he says is worsening crime and idling at city hall.

Experts say, however, that his controversial track record could hinder his political ambitions.

Born to Jamaican parents, Saunders immigrated to Canada from England as a child in 1967. After joining the Toronto Police Service out of high school, he was assigned to a range of divisions including the drug squad, emergency task force and homicide unit.

He was appointed chief in 2015, becoming the first Black person to head Canada’s largest municipal police force.

As mayor, he says, he’d ensure fairness at city hall.

“I’ve seen success stories through a lot of my partnerships and I hope to bring that to city hall so that everyone has a voice, not just the loudest voice in the room,” Saunders says in an interview.

“I’ve had a lot of empathy and understanding when it comes to finding the right solutions.”

He specifically cites his experience managing the police budget as proof he can manage the city’s pandemic-ravaged finances.

Saunders’ campaign launched on the heels of several high-profile cases of violence on city streets and public transit, some of them deadly. He pledged to respond by adding 200 special transit constables and 600 uniformed officers, paired with accompanying mental health and addictions supports.

He’s also pledged to increase the supply of housing by cutting down approval times, easing congestion by deprioritizing bike lanes on major streets and replacing supervised injection sites with treatment options to address drug use and homelessness downtown.

University of Ottawa criminology professor Michael Kempa said those issues roll together for an older, conservative or suburban voter base.

“For the typically older people who vote in the largest number, most of the more politically-conservative decisions that chiefs of police have made resonate with those voters,” he said.

But timing could work against Saunders, as Kempa noted public support of policing is at a low point following criticism of police operations during the Freedom

Convoy in Ottawa and the mass shooting that killed 22 people in Nova Scotia.

“It’s an unfortunate time to be a former chief of police seeking office,” he said.

Saunders could also be up against a motivated left-wing vote, as progressives look to take advantage of the open mayoral race and opportunity to end 13 years of conservative rule.

Polls have consistently seen Saunders fight to hold on to second place, behind front-runner and former NDP parliamentarian Olivia Chow, who has maintained a significant lead ahead of the June 26 byelection.

In recent weeks, Saunders has shifted away from policy discussion to position himself as her antithesis, urging voters to rally behind him to “Stop Chow.”

He’s also the candidate of choice for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who recently put a Saunders campaign sign on his lawn after warning Toronto would be in trouble if a “lefty” mayor was elected. Saunders ran, and lost, in last year’s provincial election running under Ford’s Progressive Conservative banner.

While Saunders has been “saying some of the right things” about the limits of policing to tackle complex social problems, “he does have a track record of having made controversial statements and decisions around using enforcement on these same issues,” said Kempa.

In his time as chief, Saunders came under fire from members of the Black community, who said he failed to effectively deal with discriminatory policing and excessive force.

Saunders also faced intense criticism over the force’s handling of a series of disappearances and killings of men who frequented the city’s gay village.

He appeared to suggest, in a Globe and Mail report, that the community’s lack of co-operation played a role in how long it took to arrest a suspect. Saunders later told The Canadian Press he would never have tried to shift blame onto the vulnerable community but said the police should have better communicated to the LGBTQ community how much time, money and resources the force had spent on investigating the disappearances.

Those sentiments ring hollow to Beverly Bain, a University of Toronto professor and member of the No Pride in Policing Coalition, who said police ignored and undermined the concerns of community members.

“Police do not protect us … so why would we want someone as Saunders to lead this city when Saunders’ agenda is about the escalating of policing budgets, the deployment of more police?” she said.

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a University of Toronto criminology professor, argued Saunders’ tough-on-crime focus takes advantage of social problems worsened by the pandemic for political gain.

“Saunders is clearly trying to promote a moral panic around crime and drugs in the city that he thinks will advance his campaign,” he said. Toronto is a very safe city by international standards, Owusu-Bempah added.

Saunders, meanwhile, maintains that “random crime and disorder” have gone up significantly, and he could restore order.

“I’ve learned to overcome challenges, but I’ve also had compassion and understanding that a lot of people go through challenges,” he says.

“In every spot that I’ve been a leader, I’ve always made significant change.”

This profile is part of a series by The Canadian Press looking at leading candidates in Toronto’s mayoral byelection. Candidates were chosen based on polling and their participation in mayoral debates.