Toronto election enters home stretch as contenders offer two starkly different visions
TORONTO — A municipal election nearly derailed by a city-province power struggle entered the home stretch on Wednesday as advance polls opened in Toronto, signalling the beginning of the end of a fraught campaign that’s seen everything from last-minute contenders to pitched court battles.
Mayor John Tory, a former Rogers executive and provincial Conservative party leader who cruised to victory in 2014 after the tumultuous mayoralty of the late Rob Ford, appeared to have a clear path to re-election amid a field of lesser-known rivals until the province decided to change the city’s electoral map.
Ford’s older brother — Premier Doug Ford — shoved the previously sleepy municipal campaign into the spotlight in July when he abruptly announced that he would slash the size of city council nearly in half.
The controversial move triggered several legal actions, and prompted former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat to launch her own surprise mayoral run, quickly becoming Tory’s primary challenger.