livia Chow has been declared the mayor-elect of Toronto. After an unexpectedly close race against city councillor Ana Bailão, with more than 99 per cent reported polling as of Friday at 11 p.m. Chow won by a narrow margin of just over 34,000 votes.
The mayoral campaign, marked by over 100 candidates, focused down to a half dozen frontrunners in the final month. Bailão, polling in the low teens, received an endorsement from former mayor John Tory in the final stretch on the weekend before voting day.
Right-wing contenders Mark Saunders and Anthony Furey failed to consolidate the anti-Chow vote while Bailão’s numbers rose dramatically on voting day.
Chow has pledged to restore TTC service to pre-pandemic levels and increase priority streetcar and bus corridors. She plans to raise necessary revenue through a commercial lot levy and property tax increases.
Chow has also vowed to fight against Doug Ford’s plan to privatize Ontario Place and turn it into luxury spa grounds.
On housing, Chow has vowed to build 25,000 units of rent-controlled housing on city lands in addition to the 40,000 units that are already being built through city programs. She will expand the Tenant Support Program which supports tenant organizing against illegal rent increases and evictions.
