Battle lines in Toronto mayoral race drawn in campaign's first major debate: experts
City hall watchers says the first major debate of Toronto's mayoral byelection appeared to set out the battle lines for the campaign's second half, as Olivia Chow defended her frontrunner status against a field looking to make up ground.
Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus at Toronto Metropolitan University, says Chow handled the brunt of questions from the other four top contenders who attended last night's debate.
It offered a preview, he says, of the coming weeks as those four candidates -- Josh Matlow, Ana Bailão, Mitzie Hunter and Brad Bradford -- try to separate from the rest of the other top tier candidates and establish themselves as Chow's main challenger.
Former police chief Mark Saunders represented the lone holdout for the debate, hosted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, which invited the top six candidates based on polling data to discuss their plans to tackle poverty and affordability.
Already halfway through the abbreviated 12-week race to the June 26 byelection, Siemiatycki says it's a "high anxiety time" for the candidates playing catch up.
Zachary Spicer, a political science expert at York University, says some candidates who share policy positions will likely face pressure to bow out of the race to support those seen as standing a better shot at overtaking Chow, a former federal lawmaker and a long-standing member of the left-wing New Democratic Party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
Blind Sask. boy heading to international braille competition hopes to increase accessibility for visually impaired
A Saskatchewan boy who qualified for an international braille competition in Los Angeles next month hopes he can inspire change in his home province.
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.