Ontario Premier Doug Ford may have previously predicted Olivia Chow would be an “unmitigated disaster” as Toronto’s next mayor, but he says today that he will find common ground and work with her.
Chow eked out a win in the mayoral byelection against 101 other candidates vying to replace scandal-departed John Tory, with former deputy mayor Ana Bailão coming in a close second.
Ford had stumped for former police chief Mark Saunders, who placed a distant third, and had warned that under a Chow mayoralty taxes would go up 25 to 30 per cent and businesses would flee the city.
But he says today that Chow has been around politics for a long time and knows there is some mud slinging that happens during elections.
Ford says the two had a great talk Monday night – noting she is “actually quite a nice person” – and that they will work together because residents expect them to.
The results of the election, which saw Chow capture 37 per cent of the vote, are set to be certified by the city clerk on Wednesday.
In a statement today, city clerk John Elvidge said Chow has requested to take office and officially begin her tenure as the city’s next mayor on July 12. He said
Chow’s request is “subject to the certification of the official results.”
One immediate challenge for Chow will be tackling a nearly $1-billion pandemic-related budget shortfall, partly driven by reduced transit revenue and increased shelter costs.
The former NDP parliamentarian and past city councillor will also have to tackle issues of housing unaffordability and public safety concerns.
The 66-year-old veteran politician and first person of colour to be elected as Toronto’s mayor will be at city hall for meetings today.
Chow has vowed to work with other big city mayors across the country to renegotiate a new deal with the provincial and federal governments on municipal finances.
But city hall watchers say with no indication the other levels of government plan to bail out this year’s city budget, Chow will be quickly faced with tough decisions.
“You look at the period of John Tory as mayor, you know, he bent over backwards to avoid any kind of residential property tax increase,” said Zack Taylor, political science professor at Western University.
“And now we’re at the point where instead of a bunch of incremental rises, it’s probably going to have to be a pretty substantial increase.”
Chow ran on a platform to have the city build new social housing and invest millions in a program to acquire and preserve affordable units as part of a larger suite of renter protections.
She has also vowed to reverse cuts to transit service and to extend mental health crisis response teams citywide in an effort to reduce 911 wait times and divert calls from police.
Her campaign also pledged to expand rent supplements to 1,000 homes and boost the number of 24-7 respite homeless shelters, promises to be funded by an expanded tax on homes purchased for $3 million and above.
Toronto’s mayoral byelection was triggered after Tory resigned in February, just months into his third term, following his admission of an affair with a staffer.