One issue overshadowed all others in Toronto’s municipal election: How the next mayor should deal with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who intervened in the city’s election campaign by suddenly cutting its number of wards in half. That question of leadership peppered the campaigns both of front-runner incumbent John Tory, and Jennifer Keesmaat, the city’s former chief planner who jumped into the race late in the campaign after Mr. Ford’s move. But the two leading candidates also aired their differences on a wide range of other policies, with Ms. Keesmaat making a long list of promises and Mr. Tory − who declined to appear in any one-on-one debates with her − largely pointing to his record over the past four years. Story continues below advertisement AFFORDABLE HOUSING Open this photo in gallery The downtown Toronto skyline on June 15, 2018. Marta Iwanek/ The Globe and Mail Tory: Mr. Tory takes credit for the progress on his watch, and pledges to triple it. He wants the city to approve 40,000 new affordable-housing units over the next 12 years, or about 3,500 a year. And he repeatedly points out that in 2017, the city met its existing goal of approving 1,000 units a year for the first time, while approving another 1,650 this year. The city has been consolidating its massive real estate portfolio – too slowly, critics say – with an eye to either selling off or leasing surplus land to developers who pledge to build affordable housing. Central to this plan are the tax and other incentives under the city’s Open Door program, which entices developers to reserve a minimum of 20 per cent of their units for affordable housing. Mr. Tory has also pledged to work with builders, non-profits and the federal government, which has announced a national housing strategy and billions in funding, to get more affordable housing built. Keesmaat: Ms. Keesmaat frequently highlights that on Mr. Tory’s watch, Toronto has become the most expensive city in Canada in which to rent. In her first campaign promise, she said she would build – not just approve – 100,000 units over 10 years, or 10,000 a year, almost triple Mr. Tory’s promise and nearly 10 times what the city achieves now. The stakes are too high for the incremental action promised by Mr. Tory, she warns, as more and more people are priced out of Toronto. But critics say her target is unachievable: Even over the boom of the past five years, the city’s development industry only built an average of 18,000 total units a year – affordable or otherwise. And the federal government’s target for the entire country under its new national housing strategy is only 100,000 units over 10 years. Mr. Tory’s campaign said that Ms. Keesmaat hasn’t explained how much her plan would would cost, noting that the city’s Open Door incentives now in effect are budgeted to cost $250-million over five years, just to produce the current bare minimum of 1,000 new units a year. Ms. Keesmaat’s campaign says she would keep the city’s existing incentives for developers at their current level, but argues she can reach her much higher housing target simply by handing over much more city-owned land – and doing it more quickly. Ms. Keesmaat has also promised to launch a “rent-to-own” program that would allow tenants in these new affordable housing units to put some of their rent payments toward a down payment. Her plan would be paid for with a 0.4-per-cent property surtax on homes valued at more than $4-million. But to do that, Ms. Keesmaat needs permission from the Ontario Progressive Conservative government. Story continues below advertisement PUBLIC TRANSIT Open this photo in gallery Yonge-Bloor station at evening rush hour is often over crowded. Melissa Tait Tory: The incumbent points to his council-approved transit network plan, which includes the controversial one-stop Scarborough subway extension and the downtown relief subway line, as a triumph – along with $9-billion in down payments from provincial and federal governments that he uses as proof of his skills as a negotiator. (Whoever wins will need to persuade governments to invest billions more.) He also likes to remind voters that he brought in free rides for children under 12. But Mr. Tory has taken heat from Ms. Keesmaat over his now-diminished SmartTrack plan. In his 2014 campaign, he promised a subway-like system, but on the surface using existing rail corridors, with 22 stations – built using tax-increment financing with money from development. Criticized as unrealistic from the beginning, it has since been turned into six new GO stations (as well as eight refurbished existing GO stations), plus a fare agreement that would see Torontonians charged a $3 fare to ride GO, provided the new provincial government honours this pledge. Toronto property taxpayers will also cover a significant portion of the $1.5-billion bill for the stations. Keesmaat: In some ways, Ms. Keesmaat’s plan differs little from Mr. Tory’s, and rests on largely the same list of partly funded or unfunded projects – but with some tweaks. She would ask the province to pay the entire cost of the Scarborough subway, and put the city’s portion into the Eglinton East light-rail line. She also proposes a new light-rail line on Jane Street in the city’s west end (first planned under then-mayor David Miller’s Transit City concept), and new “enhanced bus service” on key lines. She would keep some of Mr. Tory’s SmartTrack stations, but scrap others. She accuses Mr. Tory of forcing city staff to work on SmartTrack – which she says was drafted on the back of an envelope – instead of the downtown relief subway line. He has countered by insisting that the relief line is also a priority, even holding an event on Friday morning to boast that the results of the line’s environmental assessment had just been approved by the province. Ms. Keesmaat says she would set up a dedicated team reporting to her office to speed up the work on the line, vowing to see it completed three years ahead of its current scheduled opening date in 2031. POLICING Open this photo in gallery Police near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto, on July 22, 2018. Chris Helgren/Reuters Tory: With an alarming increase in shootings, and a police union complaining of overstretched officers, Mr. Tory reversed course on a hiring freeze – originally brought in as part of a broader modernization plan – and called for the hiring of 200 more officers this year, and 200 more in 2019. (He blames the change of direction on a higher-than-expected wave of retiring cops.) Mr. Tory has also called for a ban on handguns in the city. He has also said that he would have council match the $25-million recently announced by Mr. Ford for policing, and direct a third of that toward new, dedicated neighbourhood officers and the rest to programs for young people aimed gt keeping them out of gangs. Council also approved, at Mr. Tory’s urging, a plan to invest in a high-tech audio-surveillance system known as ShotSpotter, used in scores of U.S. cities, that pinpoints gunshots. Story continues below advertisement Keesmaat: Ms. Keesmaat underlines Mr. Tory’s sudden reversal of his hiring freeze, the city’s problems with 911-response times and the fact that it took him years to come out in favour of a handgun ban, as signs that his leadership on this file has been lacking. She says she would expand the neighbourhood policing program to 140 neighbourhoods over the next four years, and she calls for more investment in youth programs. GARDINER EXPRESSWAY Open this photo in gallery Westbound traffic on the Gardiner Expressway on May 16, 2016. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail Tory: He championed rebuilding the elevated Gardiner’s least-used easternmost section, and points to his ability to build consensus even among some of his opponents, who would later vote for his “hybrid option,” a $1.4-billion plan to realign the expressway. He clashed with Ms. Keesmaat over this issue when she was his chief planner and she publicly defied him by advocating that the Gardiner should be torn down.<doc-sep>Share this Story: Keesmaat vows to keep working for a better Toronto Keesmaat vows to keep working for a better Toronto Article content Jennifer Keesmaat’s campaign for mayor of Toronto died on the shoals of the city-suburban divide. While the former chief city planner for Toronto generated interest and support in the downtown core, her campaign floundered in suburbia. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Keesmaat vows to keep working for a better Toronto Back to video On Monday night, the popular Keesmaat went down to defeat, despite the backing of city council’s NDP cohort as their de facto candidate. We'll continue to work, with passion and purpose, towards building a city that works better for everyone: a city that's more affordable, more livable, more equal, and more sustainable. Thank you Toronto. — Jennifer Keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) October 23, 2018 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “Mr. Tory has worked hard his whole life in political office, and I’m sure that our mayor will return to office determined to make his time there count,” Keesmaat said in her concession speech in which she thanked supporters. “We’ll eventually figure out ways for people to afford to live here.” And while the future is unclear for Keesmaat, she outlined the kind of city she envisioned. “I’m not going to give up working on it and I hope you don’t either,” she told supporters. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or One young volunteer told the Toronto Sun that working for Keesmaat has changed her life. Lara Weeks was effectively homeless when her building was flooded. Keesmaat and her ideas gave her inspiration to do something big. “I’m taking urban planning in the winter,” she said. “Jennifer inspires everyone.” In addition to floating the idea of secession, Keesmaat also took heat for wanting to tear down the Gardiner Expressway and closing three city-owned golf courses to open more public space. To those who supported me, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who committed so much time and energy to our vision. I will always be grateful for the support you all have shown. — Jennifer Keesmaat (@jen_keesmaat) October 23, 2018 Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Another factor that stalled the Keesmaat campaign was that at the end of the day, her platform was not much different from Tory’s. “There hasn’t been one particular issue that has caught fire,” said Kim Wright of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada. “That’s because the policy differential between Jen Keesmaat and John Tory is really not that far apart.” We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or bhunter@postmedia.com Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Toronto Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>If Premier Doug Ford is the past and Mayor John Tory is the present, Toronto mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat is the future. But who thinks about the future? Keesmaat’s biggest problem will be that harried voters in every part of this huge urban and suburban city might be too busy to take an hour to think ahead, much less to vote. With their days spent keeping their personal canoe afloat — work, family, rent, mortgage, a rough commute, health, heat, cold, and of course raccoons — they’re too busy coping. The future is someone else’s problem. But the future was Keesmaat’s job for five years. She was Toronto’s chief planner. Assiduously recruited by the city from her own growing business, she did nothing but look ahead, visualizing how the city might look, feel and be easier to get to and get around in. She had to consider dollars and cents, entrenched corporate, community and government interests, along with that elusive creature hunted by us all, quality of life. What is your quality of life right now? Straitened, I imagine. What is mine? Fretful. Like many voters, I have ideas. I want a shorter Gardiner expressway (in over-large Ward 19, I’m voting Matthew Kellway), more trees (and possibly granny flats?) in the suburbs, laneway housing in the urbs, more LRTs, a downtown relief line that will ease the hot, slow squash for subway riders from all parts of the city, climate-friendly buildings, more density … my requirements are endless. And then, suddenly, the future slammed its face right up against us all with an unfolding dystopia in 12 years. Scientists had been telling us about what climate change will have done within a century. That’s so distant. I will not see those years, I will not make old bones, I thought. Read more: Opinion | Edward Keenan: Jennifer Keesmaat goes looking for Toronto the bold. But does it exist? Opinion | Royson James: Toronto deserves better than timid, lukewarm John Tory Mayoral challenger Jennifer Keesmaat says she won’t raise property taxes above inflation And then climate scientists sent out an urgent bulletin: we have only 12 years left to keep global warming to 1.5 C. If not, life will become uncomfortable for all and unbearable for many. Unprepared places — like traditionally run, hidebound cities — will be in for it. How do politicians react to crisis? Remember what happened when Premier Ford told Mayor Tory “in passing” that he wanted to shrink Toronto’s city council. Tory didn’t take it seriously. Then an elected Ford did it. Tory didn’t get openly angry, which is fine, but he didn’t even seem energized, ready to fight tooth-and-nail for citizens who would lose their closest local link to democracy. Tory suggested a referendum, of all things. It worked so well for the Brits, I note. Why would it go differently than the election that had just brought us Ford? I have rarely been so disappointed in a politician. Keesmaat, taking questions on Thursday from the Star’s editorial board, is different. She radiates energy. She is an intellectual with a detailed understanding of every dragged-out city problem. But most of all, she is hopeful rather then despairing. She contains no discouragement, and that’s saying a lot in these times. She reminds me of Chrystia Freeland, an intellectual with an intuitive understanding of her opponents with whom she has great patience. “Chrystia Freeland is a role model,” says Keesmaat. The Star’s Election Promise Tracker follows the differences between Tory and Keesmaat. Her plans are noticeably more detailed and ambitious than his. He has four transit promises, one of which is a daring plan to “maintain the discount for seniors on TTC fares.” Edgy. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... She has made 10 promises on transit, but the one that most impresses me is building the Downtown Relief Line “three years faster than currently projected.” Speed matters more than ever. Nothing could be kinder to the city and the planet, our beloved little blue ball falling around the sun, than to get polluting cars off the road and send people off to work on a fast, generous subway. I do get the impression that Tory moves more slowly, like the Lazy River ride at the water park. Lazy Rivers are circular. You end up right where you began. Keesmaat’s daughter, who has just entered university, would consider becoming a teacher but it’s impossible, Keesmaat says. You can no longer live in Toronto on a teacher’s salary. How has it come to this? @HeatherMallick Heather Mallick is a columnist based in Toronto covering current affairs. Follow her on Twitter: Read more about:<doc-sep>
July 27 was a roller-coaster day in Toronto politics, marked by the Ford government’s attack on local democracy and Jennifer Keesmaat’s last-minute entry into what had been a sleepy mayoral race with no high-profile challenger. For a year or more, there had been a behind-the-scenes search for just such a candidate to run against the conservative John Tory. Formal and informal groups undertake these kinds of searches and throw their weight, money and political machines behind a candidate. In lieu of a primary or nomination process and a municipal party system, where candidates would be selected publicly, Toronto’s political machines work behind the scenes, making it extremely difficult for other “fringe” candidates to rise. Keesmaat was unusual in that she had name recognition both during and after her tenure as a civil servant. You’d be hard-pressed to find a chief planner in any city who is well-known to anyone other than urban policy wonks, yet Keesmaat was a star in Toronto and beyond, all of which made her a prime candidate for a mayoral run. Her policy proposals came fast and furious, and reflected her planning background: Road safety, supporting the plan to transform Yonge St. in North York, championing a downtown relief line for the subway, adding 100,000 affordable housing units and tearing down the underused east end of the Gardiner Expressway are all part of a plan that would be at home in any urban-minded, forward-thinking global city. An interesting plank in her campaign platform was the promise of a “100 day action plan” that would, in part, assign a “full-time, dedicated team to fast track work on a relief line subway.” This is significant because she knows how city hall works and how things get done there — or don’t. A week or so before she declared her candidacy, I interviewed Keesmaat for a story about her then-job as CEO of Creative Housing Society, a private sector affordable housing initiative, and asked her — hypothetically, at the time — what she would do to complete big projects like affordable housing if she were mayor. Opinion | Heather Mallick: Jennifer Keesmaat is Toronto’s vote for modernity Opinion | Edward Keenan: Jennifer Keesmaat goes looking for Toronto the bold. But does it exist? Opinion | Royson James: Toronto deserves better than timid, lukewarm John Tory “I would pull together teams that are designed to expedite specific projects,” she said. “If you don’t have the people that are laser-focused on delivering this, who show up each day and say, ‘This is my job,’ it just won’t get done. And I saw that again and again when I was at the City of Toronto.” When so many city complaints tend to be about big things not getting done, this kind of boldness could make a mayoralty. The trick is translating big ideas into something that gains traction with voters. Never forget that as much as cities need big ideas to address big problems, delivery of municipal services touches people every day. That’s garbage collection, snow plowing, pothole fixing and the like. Perhaps the hardest thing for any “city-building” candidate to figure out is how to campaign on both everyday things and big ideas. Think back to 2003, when Toronto’s last progressive mayor was elected. Apart from David Miller’s big ideas and the need to clear the stench of corruption that came with the MFP computer leasing scandal, Miller’s opposition to a proposed bridge to Toronto Island became a defining part of his campaign. It almost seems quaint now that such an issue could be so important, but it hooked a big part of the electorate. The reason that Tory’s campaign continues to drive home his commitment to not raising taxes is that it too has hooked the electorate. Keesmaat has been criticized for not being even bolder and distinguishing herself even more from Tory. Indeed, she is lockstep with him in committing to not raise taxes above the rate of inflation. At some point, ambition, big ideas and simply keeping the city running all collide with the ability to pay for them, a situation that some have described as Toronto’s looming fiscal iceberg. The boldest thing any mayoral candidate could do would be to have an honest conversation about taxes. Could they ride that iceberg to victory? Maybe not in Toronto. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... That a sincere conversation about taxes doesn’t exist here isn’t just on the leading mayoral candidates, it’s on Torontonians.