Share this Story: John Tory cruises to second term as Toronto mayor as Ontario holds municipal elections John Tory cruises to second term as Toronto mayor as Ontario holds municipal elections Tory, 64, took about 63 per cent of the vote on Monday while Jennifer Keesmaat, his main rival, took about 23 per cent Photo by Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press Article content Toronto Mayor John Tory easily won re-election on Monday after a spirited campaign marked by unprecedented interference from the provincial government, but at least a dozen other Ontario communities were forced to extend voting by as much as a day due to technical difficulties. Tory took just above 63 per cent of the vote while his main rival, former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat, took more than 23 per cent — giving the incumbent mayor a far more significant victory than when he was first elected four years ago. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Tory cruises to second term as Toronto mayor as Ontario holds municipal elections Back to video “That’s quite an evening isn’t it,” Tory, 64, joked in his victory speech, calling his mandate historic. “I want to acknowledge Jennifer Keesmaat, who brought ideas forward which I’m sure we’ll discuss in the coming days.” In all, voters in more than 400 communities across Ontario cast ballots for their next municipal government after campaigns that saw everything from legal battles to electoral reform. In 26 municipalities, entire councils were acclaimed. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content In Toronto, Keesmaat and other critics had tried to paint Tory as weak and unwilling to stand up for the city after Premier Doug Ford slashed the number of council seats from 47 to 25 mid-race. More On This Topic Chris Selley: Tory romps to victory, but Toronto's mayoral race was a bizarre missed opportunity After sexual misconduct allegations forced him from politics, Patrick Brown makes comeback in Brampton Ontario municipal elections roundup: Upsets, comebacks and malfunctions Tory countered by arguing he prefers a low-key approach that allows him to get on with upper levels of government and get things done. A total of 242 candidates vied for a spot on the city’s shrunken council, with incumbents going head-to-head in some areas. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Keesmaat was gracious in defeat, while still pushing some of her favourite themes. “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,” she said in her concession speech. “We’ll eventually figure out ways for people to afford to live here.” Four years ago, Tory took only 40 per cent of the popular vote when he edged out Ford, who finished in second place with 33 per cent. Ford went on to become Progressive Conservative leader earlier this year and premier in June. Photo by Chris Young/The Canadian Press Myer Siemiatycki, a professor of politics at Ryerson University, called Tory’s win “decisive,” saying he had only one real challenger this time as opposed to two in 2014. The right-of-centre Tory, however, will have to do more to win council to his side now, Siemiatycki said. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “This council will have a lot more opposition voices, as it were, to the mayor than the last council did,” Siemiatycki said. “It will be an interesting four years ahead — it will test Mayor Tory’s conciliatory abilities and talents, which are there but didn’t reach across the aisle in his first term.” Preliminary voter turnout in Toronto was pegged at 47 per cent, compared to 54 per cent in 2014. In Brampton, northwest of Toronto, ousted Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown made good on his political comeback. Brown edged out incumbent Linda Jeffrey for mayor. He had been forced to step down from his post as leader of the provincial party in January amid sexual misconduct allegations he denies. “My party is the people of Brampton and I want results,” Brown said in a victory speech that made no reference to his previous troubles. “Brampton is going to be the envy of Ontario.” Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Brown was not the only former provincial legislator to relaunch a political career mere months after being swept from power. In Thunder Bay, former municipal affairs minister Bill Mauro seemed poised to become mayor after incumbent Keith Hobbs, caught up in extortion and obstruction-of-justice charges, announced he would not seek re-election. Also, former Liberal Speaker Steve Peters succeeded in his bid to secure a council seat in St. Thomas, where previous Conservative MP Joe Preston was elected mayor. Photo by Dave Abel/Postmedia At least one scandal-plagued mayor went down to defeat. In Whitchurch-Stouffville, Justin Altmann lost badly. He faced an investigation from the town’s integrity commissioner after reports surfaced of a police-style photo gallery on his washroom wall containing images of residents, journalists and politicians. Council docked him six months pay and barred him from entering his office other than to collect mail or attend meetings. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Many other incumbents fared better, including the longest-serving municipal leader in the province. Gord Krantz, 81, was re-elected as mayor of Milton, a post he’s held since 1980. Other returning incumbents included Jim Watson of Ottawa, Drew Dilkens of Windsor, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, and Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls. In Toronto, some candidates with last names that carried a degree of political cachet were able to clinch victory on council. Mike Layton, son of late federal NDP leader Jack Layton, was re-elected in his downtown riding. Michael Ford, nephew of Ontario’s premier, won his northwest Toronto ward in the heart of so-called “Ford Nation.” Elsewhere in Ontario, however, technical issues with online voting systems prompted numerous municipalities to extend voting, some by as much as a day. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Five in eastern Ontario went so far as to declare an emergency, adding that voting would be open for an additional 24 hours in the Laurentian Valley, Pembroke, Petawawa, Renfrew and Whitewater Region. Other municipalities offering a 24-hour voting extension included those in Grey and Bruce counties using online voting, all communities in the Muskoka region, Bradford West Gwillimbury, the City of Waterloo, and Greater Sudbury. Dominion Voting, a provider of electronic voting, apologized after 51 municipalities ran into “slow traffic” it blamed on an unnamed Toronto provider. Dominion said the issue was resolved after about 90 minutes, but many voters still had issues. “At no time was the integrity of the system at risk of compromise, or in any way insecure,” it said in a statement. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Results were also slow in coming from London, Ont., which became the first Canadian municipality to use ranked ballots in a local election — an option no other municipality opted to try. The system allows voters to choose three candidates in order of preference. Cambridge and Kingston were holding votes on whether to adopt the system for the municipal election in 2022. According to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, 6,645 candidates ran in local council races, with 9.2 million people eligible to vote. Despite various municipalities’ different circumstances, many campaigns were connected by common threads. Hot button issues such as housing and accessible public transit were campaign issues in Toronto and smaller municipalities alike. Share this article in your social network Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shopping essentials Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<doc-sep>John Tory easily secured a second term as Toronto's mayor on Monday, resoundingly defeating his rival and former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat after an unpredictable election campaign. Tory took a whopping 63.5 per cent of the vote in a field of 34 candidates, a considerable increase from his 2014 showing when he managed 40 per cent of total votes in a crowded race that included Doug Ford, now the premier of Ontario. Similarly, while he lost large areas of north Etobicoke, Scarborough and three crucial downtown wards in 2014, this time around every corner of the city threw its support behind the 64-year-old, self-styled consensus-builder. Tory's victory is the second-largest since Toronto amalgamated in 1998. Only former mayor Mel Lastman won with a bigger margin in 2000, when he took 80 per cent of votes. Polls throughout the campaign certainly pointed to a firm Tory victory on election night. However the final results suggest strong support for his agenda among voters. 'Historic mandate' In a victory speech at a downtown Toronto hotel, Tory said his win amounts to a clear mandate. "I want to say thank you to the people of Toronto for your confidence, for your support, for their inspiration, and for this historic mandate that they've given me tonight," he told the crowd, adding that he also wanted to thank his opponents. "It takes courage, it takes endurance to run a race this long," he said. Further, Tory said he'll get to work immediately on key issues facing the city, including building new transit and housing, and combating a recent surge in gun violence. Now's the time to show some leadership and be bold and take some bold steps. - Mitchell Kosny, Ryerson University professor "I heard the message loud and clear that we must do more to speed up the increase in supply of affordable housing so people from every single income group will be able to live here and work here," he said. "Over the next four years, my goal is to make sure no one anywhere in our city feels like opportunity is a distant point on the horizon. We must continue to be a city that is a place of hope for everyone, not a place where people lose hope." His primary opponent in the race Keesmaat pulled some 23.5 per cent of the vote, surely to be a disappointing finish for the progressive challenger who tried to frame Tory's leadership as "timid" and ineffective. She joined the race at the last minute, just one day after it was reported that Ontario's Progressive Conservative government would cut the number of councillors from 47 to 25. But her late entry meant she had little time to earn the trust of voters. Keesmaat served as Toronto's city planner for five years, including three years under Tory himself. Her campaign ultimately failed to build momentum heading into election day. (Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press) While her campaign ultimately failed to gain traction, it did spotlight some popular policy proposals on issues like transit and affordable housing. Tory acknowledged as much in his speech, saying she "brought ideas forward which I'm sure we will discuss in the coming days." In her own concession speech to supporters, Keesmaat congratulated Tory and said that despite her crushing defeat, she still believes that a better version of Toronto is possible. "I'm not going to give up working on it and I hope you don't either," she said. "We'll be working to make housing more affordable for ordinary families, by building more of it. We'll be working to make our transit system better by continuously building to a plan that makes sense ... We'll eventually figure out ways for people to afford to live here." Keesmaat also mentioned taxes, an issue on which she fiercely disagreed with Tory. Both promised to keep property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation, but Keesmaat criticized Tory for his refusal to pursue other ways to raise money. At Toronto city hall, the balance of power lies with council. Therefore, a mayor must cultivate a coalition of like-minded councillors to truly implement their agenda. (Evan Mitsui/CBC) During the campaign, Keesmaat proposed a surtax on luxury homes costing more than $4 million. That revenue would partly fund the construction of affordable and rent-to-own housing units on neglected city land. One poll released late last week found widespread support for the policy idea. "We'll also eventually pay for the city services with a tax system that's fair and asks people to contribute their fair share to ensure that there's a place for absolutely everyone in this city," she told supporters. 'He should take this win and run with it' Beyond the mayor's race, the province's unexpected upheaval threw several council races into chaos, and pitted incumbents against one another in 11 wards across the city. Tory's team watched those contests closely, as he needs to build a majority coalition to pursue an aggressive policy agenda at city hall. Two of three council candidates he endorsed in the run up to election day won their races, and several other long-time incumbent allies were also re-elected. Over all, it appears that a majority of those elected to council lean to the political right, a reality that will likely benefit Tory in the long run. Toronto mayor-elect John Tory celebrates his election victory with family and friends. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press) Mitchell Kosny. a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, said Tory needs to seize on his major win. "He came out of the election pretty much as good as he could have. But I think everything is ramped up for him now, and it's ramped up good," he explained. "He better step forward now, he's into his second term, he's got a resounding mandate and a council he can work with. Now's the time to show some leadership and be bold and take some bold steps." If it proves to be another four years of the status quo, voters will sour on the second-term mayor, Kosny added. "He should take this win and run with it, because it's the best chance he's ever going to have."<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email Voters in Toronto headed to the polls Oct. 22 to elect their new municipal representatives. John Tory won a second consecutive term as mayor of Toronto, defeating former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat and 33 other candidates in a 10-month campaign that had him lead in the opinion polls from start to finish. Thirteen current councillor members will not be returning to city hall under the new 25-ward system imposed by the Ontario government. Of the 25 ward races, only three wards didn’t have any incumbents running. Eleven wards had just one incumbent vying for each seat. Story continues below advertisement In addition to the city-wide mayoral results above, vote totals for every ward can be seen through the following links: Ward 1 Etobicoke North Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre Ward 3 Etobicoke–Lakeshore Ward 4 Parkdale–High Park Ward 5 York South–Weston Ward 6 York Centre Ward 7 Humber River–Black Creek Ward 8 Eglinton–Lawrence Ward 9 Davenport Ward 10 Spadina–Fort York Ward 11 University–Rosedale Ward 12 Toronto–St. Paul’s Ward 13 Toronto Centre Ward 14 Toronto–Danforth Ward 15 Don Valley West Ward 16 Don Valley East Ward 17 Don Valley North Ward 18 Willowdale Ward 19 Beaches–East York Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest Ward 21 Scarborough Centre Ward 22 Scarborough–Agincourt Ward 23 Scarborough North Ward 24 Scarborough–Guildwood Ward 25 Scarborough–Rouge Park A full list of Toronto city council candidates, wards and winners are below (* indicates an incumbent member of council who ran for re-election): Mayor Dobrosav Basaric Chris Brosky Drew Buckingham Brian Buffey Logan Choy Daryl Christoff Kevin Clarke Sarah Climenhaga Mike Gallay Saron Gebresellassi Faith Goldy Brian Graff Tofazzel Haque Monowar Hossain Christopher Humphrey Chai Kalevar Andrzej Kardys Jennifer Keesmaat Steven Lam Kris Langenfeld Jim McMillan Gautam Nath Michael Nicula Thomas O’Neill Joseph Osuji Joseph Pampena Josh Rachlis D!ONNE Renée Jim Ruel James Sears Knia Singh John Tory* (winner) Jakob Vardy Ion Gelu Vintila Jack Weenen City of Toronto’s 25 wards (2018-2022) Story continues below advertisement Councillor, Ward 1 Etobicoke North Vincent Crisanti* Peter D’Gama Naiima Farah Michael Ford* (winner) Michelle Garcia Christopher Noor Shirish Patel Gurinder Patri Carol Royer Councillor, Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre Bill Boersma John Campbell* Angelo Carnevale Stephen Holyday* Erica Kelly Councillor, Ward 3 Etobicoke–Lakeshore Svitlana Burlakova Iain Davis Pamela Gough Mark Grimes*(winner) Robert Gunnyon Michael Julihen Michael Loomans Amber Morley Peggy Mulder Patrizia Nigro Councillor, Ward 4 Parkdale–High Park Kalsang Dolma David Ginsberg Valerie Grdisa Taras Kulish Mercy Okalowe Nick Pavlov Alex Perez Gord Perks*(winner) Evan Tummillo José Vera Councillor, Ward 5 York South–Weston Keaton Austin Deeqa Barre Joey Carapinha Frank Di Giorgio* Fred Fosu Harpeet Gulri Frances Nunziata*(winner) Cedric Ogilvie Lekan Olawoye Chiara Padovani Luis Portillo Councillor, Ward 6 York Centre Maria Augimeri* James Pasternak*(winner) Louise Russo Edward Zaretsky Councillor, Ward 7 Humber River–Black Creek Kristy-Ann Charles Amanda Coombs Tiffany Ford Winston La Rose Giorgio Mammoliti* Anthony Perruzza*(winner) Deanna Sgro Kerry-Ann Thomas Councillor, Ward 8 Eglinton–Lawrence Jennifer Arp Christin Carmichael Greb* Mike Colle (winner) Darren Dunlop Lauralyn Johnston Beth Levy Randall Pancer Josh Pede Peter Tijiri Dyanoosh Youssefi Councillor, Ward 9 Davenport Ana Bailão*(winner) Mark Balack Nahum Mann Troy Young Councillor, Ward 10 Spadina–Fort York Michael Barcelos Al Carbone Joe Cressy*(winner) Ahdam Dour April Engelberg Dean Maher Andrew Massey Rick Myers Karlene Nation John Nguyen Kevin Vuong Edris Zalmai Andrei Zodian Sabrina Zuniga Councillor, Ward 11 University–Rosedale Michael Borrelli Marc Cormier Mike Layton*(winner) Joyce Rowlands George Sawision Michael Shaw Nicki Ward Councillor, Ward 12 Toronto–St. Paul’s Iola Fortino Artur Langu Ian Lipton Josh Matlow*(winner) Joe Mihevc* Bob Murphy Councillor, Ward 13 Toronto Centre Darren Abramson Khuran Aftab Jon Callegher Richard Forget Tim Gordanier Jonathan Heath John Jeffery Walied Khogali Ali Gladys Larbie Barbara Lavoie Ryan Lester Kyle McNally Catherina Perez George Smitherman Jordan Stone Lucy Troisi* Megann Willson Rob Wolvin Kristyn Wong-Tam*(winner) Councillor, Ward 14 Toronto–Danforth Lanrick Bennett Chris Budo Dixon Chan Marisol D’Andrea Paula Fletcher*(winner) Mary Fragedakis* Ryan Lindsay Lawrence Lychowyd Chris Marinakis Alexander Pena Councillor, Ward 15 Don Valley West Jon Burnside* Tanweer Khan Minh Le Jaye Robinson*(winner) Nikola Streker Councillor, Ward 16 Don Valley East Aria Alavi David Caplan Diane Gadoutsis Stephen Ksiazek Pushpalatha Mathanalingam Denzil Minnan-Wong*(winner) Dimitre Popov Michael Woulfe Councillor, Ward 17 Don Valley North Shelley Carroll (winner) Steven Chen Kasra Gharibi Ian Hanecak Stella Kargiannakis Kostas Kokkinakis Ken Lister Christina Liu Erin O’Connor Councillor, Ward 18 Willowdale Farah Aslani Lily Cheng Sonny Cho Danny De Santis David Epstein John Filion*(winner) Norman Gardiner Andrew Herbst Albert Kim Gerald Mak Sam Mathi Sam Moini David Mousavi Jin Chung Park Winston Park Hamid Shakeri Saman Tabasi Nejad Councillor, Ward 19 Beaches–East York Brad Bradford (winner) Norval Bryant Paul Bura Dragan Cimesa David Del Grande Diane Dyson Matthew Kellway Donald Lamoreux Brenda MacDonald Joshua Makuch Valérie Maltais Frank Marra Paul Murton Morley Rosenberg Adam Smith Veronica Stephen Councillor, Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest Gerard Arbour Mohsin Bhuiyan Paulina Corpuz Gary Crawford* (winner) Michelle Holland-Berardinetti* John Letonja Robert McDermott Suman Roy Curtis Smith Bruce Waters Councillor, Ward 21 Scarborough Centre Paul Beatty Vivek Bhatt Fawzi Bidawi Randy Bucao Zia Choudhary Zamir ul hassan Nadeem Arfan Navdeed Raphael Rosch Nur Saifullah Michael Thompson*(winner) Councillor, Ward 22 Scarborough–Agincourt Jude Coutinho Jim Karygiannis*(winner) Norm Kelly* Michael Korzeniewski Vincent Lee Roland Lin Jason Woychesko Councillor, Ward 23 Scarborough North Ashwani Bhardwaj Maggie Chi James Chow Dameon Halstead Anthony Internicola Sheraz Khan Cynthia Lai (winner) Mahboob Mian Neethan Saba Felicia Samuel Sandeep Srivastava Councillor, Ward 24 Scarborough–Guildwood Paul Ainslie*(winner) Itohan Evbagharu Reddy Muttukuru Priyanth Nallaratnam Keiosha Ross Sajid Saleh Ganga Sasthrigal Michelle Spencer Emery Warner Morlan Washington Councillor, Ward 25 Scarborough–Rouge Park Amanda Cain Paul Cookson Daniel Cubellis Jasper Ghori Reza Khoshdel Cheryl Lewis-Thurab Dave Madder Jennifer McKelvie(winner) Christopher Riley Neethan Shan* Joseph Thomas Click here for the City of Toronto’s official list of council, school board and withdrawn candidates. 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Send this page to someone via email John Tory has won a second consecutive term as mayor of Toronto. Tory defeated former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat and 33 other mayoral candidates in a 10-month campaign that had him lead in the opinion polls from start to finish. “Building on the foundations of the last four years, over the next four years my goal is to make sure no one, anywhere in our city, feels like opportunity is a distant point on the horizon,” Tory said in his victory speech in front of supporters Monday night. WATCH: The moment Toronto Mayor John Tory and his family find out he’s won re-election 0:55 Ontario Municipal election: The moment Toronto Mayor John Tory and his family find out he’s won re-election Ontario Municipal election: The moment Toronto Mayor John Tory and his family find out he’s won re-election – Oct 22, 2018 “We must continue to be a city that is a place of hope for everyone, not a place where people lose hope.” Story continues below advertisement The 2018 mayoral election, which was otherwise subdued with a lack of brand name candidates, was highlighted by Premier Doug Ford’s plan to cut the size of city council from 47 to 25 wards just weeks before voters headed to the polls. READ MORE: Toronto election results 2018 The move prompted Keesmaat to enter the race on the last day of registration as the only recognizable progressive and left-leaning candidate. Despite bold promises such as building 100,000 affordable housing units in 10 years, replacing the eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway with a boulevard and touting her $50 billion transit plan, Keesmaat’s campaign failed to resonate with voters. “Thank you to all of you that voted for me in this election,” Keesmaat said in her concession speech Monday night. “I sincerely want to congratulate John Tory on his victory. 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.” VIDEO: Jennifer Keesmaat thanks supporters after loss 2:12 Ontario Municipal Election: Jennifer Keesmaat thanks supporters after loss Ontario Municipal Election: Jennifer Keesmaat thanks supporters after loss – Oct 22, 2018 Meanwhile, Tory presented himself as the stable option for Toronto voters by moving ahead with his SmartTrack plan promised in his 2014 election victory, a commitment to match a provincial investment of $25 million to fight crime in the city and keeping property taxes at or below the rate of inflation. Story continues below advertisement Tory also ran on the promise to continue to work with provincial and federal counterparts to secure funding for transit to build the downtown relief line and the Scarborough subway extension. “It seems to me job one over the next few years is to continue the work of connecting Toronto up in many different ways to bring opportunities closer, to bring people closer, to bring us closer to our ultimate goal, which is a truly great 21st century city — a livable, affordable city with opportunities for everybody,” Tory said. VIDEO: John Tory says working together will get things done 2:59 Ontario Municipal Election: John Tory says working together will get things done Ontario Municipal Election: John Tory says working together will get things done – Oct 22, 2018 He also vowed to build 40,000 affordable housing units over 12 years by developing city-owned land. Tory also said he would continue to work on eliminating traffic congestion and forge ahead with the city’s Vision Zero Road Safety plan to reduce fatalities and injuries by speeding up road redesign initiatives, installing zebra markings at more than 200 intersections and rolling out school and senior safety zones. Story continues below advertisement “I say not to just my own staff, that eight o’clock meeting is coming soon, but I say to city councillors, I say to city staff, I say to my friends in business, my friends in labour, to the non-profit sector and other levels of government, let’s get to it. Let’s get at it,” Tory said. “I’m going to be calling on absolutely everyone. Together I think we can get things built. We can tear down barriers.