Commentary
Olivia Chow was elected Mayor of Toronto in the June 26 by election. The former NDP MP/city councillor earned 269,372 votes (37.16 percent), edging out former city councillor Ana Bailão (235,175 votes, 32.46 percent). The two conservative candidates, former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders (62,167 votes, 8.59 percent) and former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey (35,899 votes, 4.96 percent), finished third and fourth respectively.
Therein lies an interesting political puzzle. Why is it so difficult for a conservative to be elected mayor in Canada?
Toronto is a liberal and progressive city. Hence, candidates running on a centre to centre-left platform have a much greater chance of electoral success. This is especially true after Toronto became a federated municipality in 1953. The majority of its mayors—Allan Lamport (Liberal), Philip Givens (Liberal), John Sewell (Independent/Socialist), Art Eggleton (Liberal), June Rowlands (Liberal), Barbara Hall (Independent, former NDP), David Miller (Independent, former NDP) and Chow—fit within this ideological mindset.
Hold on. That means there have been conservative mayors in Toronto during this time span. Otherwise, where would the other individuals who have held this office—Leslie Howard Saunders, Nathan Phillips, Donald Dean Summerville, William Dennison, David Crombie, Fred Beavis (interim), Mel Lastman, Rob Ford, and John Tory—fit in?
That brings us to a tricky part of the equation.
There have only been certain types of conservatives elected as Toronto’s mayor. Of the above list, most would be regarded as Red Tories or left-leaning Conservatives. Their mild-to-moderate fiscal conservatism combined with social centrism/liberalism has attracted Toronto’s Conservatives, Liberals, and a smattering of New Democrats and others.
The one exception was Ford. The late mayor ran on a platform that meshed conservative-leaning principles (fiscal prudence, lower taxes) with centrist/populist philosophies (fighting for the little guy, stopping the gravy train). His guiding philosophy, “Ford Nation,” also encompasses his brother, Ontario PC Premier Doug Ford. It has a Conservative hue, but veered away from the main ideological thrust so as to attract Liberal and NDP supporters.
This helps explain why Tory endorsed Bailão late in the campaign instead of Saunders or Furey. She had moved up and down the polls, and was occasionally behind both right-leaning candidates. Yet, as a self-described “pragmatic centrist,” she was basically lumped in the same ideological category as the former mayor—and he clearly preferred her leadership approach. In contrast, the premier endorsed Saunders (who had run as an Ontario PC candidate in 2022) while another conservative mayoral candidate, Rob Davis, endorsed Furey. They chose candidates closer to their own political ideologies, which are distinctly different from Tory’s.
Hence, suggestions that Chow had ended 13 years of strict conservative rule are incorrect. Unless you believe all conservatives are the same—which is also incorrect!
This situation isn’t unique to Toronto.
Many of Calgary’s mayors have either been Liberal or left-leaning. This includes the current mayor, Jyoti Gondek, as well as Naheed Nenshi, Dave Bracconnier, Al Duerr and, believe it or not, Ralph Klein. Montreal, which has a party system in municipal politics, has had mayors mostly on centre/centre-left for decades since the demise of the right-leaning Civic Party. Vancouver also has a municipal party system, and most of its mayors have been centre/centre-left, with notable exceptions like Sam Sullivan and current officeholder Ken Sim. Major cities like Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Halifax have witnessed a similar historical pattern, too.
Are there exceptions to the rule? Yes.
Former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown is Mayor of Brampton, Ont. Former Conservative MP Joe Preston is Mayor of St. Thomas, Ont. Former Conservative MP Alex Nuttall is Mayor of Barrie, Ont. Meanwhile, Malcolm Brodie (Richmond, B.C.), Danny Breen (St. John’s, N.L.) and Mat Siscoe (St. Catharines, Ont.) have either been associated with Conservative ideas, parties, or run as candidates.
The conservative positions of these mayors are either moderate or tempered to appeal to wider voting bases. While there’s obviously nothing wrong with the latter strategy, it ultimately waters down the political messaging to its bare bones.
Then again, when you’re dealing with municipal issues like fixing roads and potholes, parks and recreation, zoning by-laws, property taxes, and affordable housing, any type of real or perceived ideological rigidity is your own worst enemy. Residents want their communities to be safe, secure, clean, affordable, transparent, and environmentally friendly. Anything else would be viewed as either political noise or the domain of federal and provincial politics.
Liberals, New Democrats and other progressives are more geared to this type of political process—and have attained greater success in Canadian mayoral elections. Red Tories and exceedingly independent-minded Conservatives have achieved certain degrees of success.
As for true conservatives, they’re often on the outside looking in.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
