With the sudden resignation of Toronto Mayor John Tory in scandal, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie will be the interim mayor. The environmental geoscientist has represented Scarborough-Rouge Park since 2018, and was named deputy mayor after last fall’s election.
But it is also likely that ambitious and better-known pols are suddenly looking at their political prospects in a post-Tory Toronto, where a new mayor will be chosen in a by-election.
Almost all of Toronto’s modern mayors previously served on city council. Councillor Josh Matlow, a centre-leftist who has clashed with Tory, has long been seen as a potential mayoralty candidate. A former school trustee and provincial Liberal candidate, the onetime activist has represented a midtown district since 2010.
Two former downtown councillors — former deputy mayor Ana Bailao and Mike Layton, son of NDP icon Jack Layton — might find themselves in fresh discussions with their political advisors. Neither re-offered in 2022; Layton cited family reasons, while Bailao later accepted a senior position with an affordable housing developer.
Former mayoralty opponents may try their luck again. Chloe Brown came third in the 2022 election but impressed leftist activists and won six per cent of the vote while reportedly spending less than $2,000 on her campaign. Former chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who later founded an affordable-housing company, came a distant second to Tory in 2018 and retains a public profile.
Toronto federal and provincial politicians who could be tempted include Kristen Wong-Tam, a popular downtown NDP MPP, and Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who represents Toronto’s east end and has chafed in Ottawa, and who is currently considering a run for Ontario Liberal leader.
