Portugal’s Ana Baião will try to become the next mayor of Toronto, the largest Canadian city to host midterm elections, this Monday.
These elections follow the scandal of an intimate relationship between former mayor John Tory and a former employee of his office, which led to his resignation in February this year.
Despite not dominating in the various polls, the Portuguese-Canadian has received public support in recent days from John Tory and also from the editors of the Toronto Star newspaper.
There are 102 candidates for mayor of Toronto, including several politicians, civic activists, an 18-year-old teenager, a dog, and others.
The most popular candidates, who stood out in several polls and are followed by major Canadian media outlets, are former NDP federal deputy (left) Olívia Chow, Portuguese Ana Bailão, former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, aldermen Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford, former provincial representative Mitzie Hunter and former Toronto Sun newspaper columnist Anthony Fury.
Born in Vila Franca de Xira (Lisbon), Ana Bailão moved to Canada at the age of 15, served as a councilor from 2010 to 2022, representing the constituency of Davenport, and more recently, the ward of 18, following the reformulation of the district elections, after winning 84 percent of the vote in elections five years ago.
A University of Toronto graduate in Sociology and European Studies, she has been in charge of the City’s Affordable Housing Committee since 2010, having been appointed by City Vice President “Mayor” John Tory, who also integrates City Council.
During the campaign, the centrist claimed that she is the only one who can “unite the city council” and reach a “consensus with the Ontario and Ottawa governments.”
One of his major announced promises was to transfer responsibility for the management of the DVP and Gardiner freeways to the provincial government, thereby “saving the City of Toronto millions of dollars” required annually to maintain these roads.
Olivia Chow has topped the polls since announcing her candidacy, vowing to “make life easier for people in trouble” with tenant protections and “building affordable housing”. However, the also former councilor is criticized for not making clear how she will finance the various commitments, including the increase in property taxes.
The new mayor of Toronto will have to find ways to eliminate the budget deficit, which exceeds one billion Canadian dollars (694 billion euros).
In a Mainstreet Research poll released Friday, Olivia Chow remained in the lead with 30 percent, while Ana Bailao had 22 percent, just behind Anthony Fury (13 percent) and Mark Saunders (12 percent). Josh Matlow and Mitzie Hunter had nine and five percent, respectively.
The polling stations will open at 10 a.m. next Monday and you can vote until 8 p.m. (still five hours in Lisbon).
Source: DN
