Former Toronto police chief defeated in Don Valley West on otherwise big night for PCs

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders has been defeated in Don Valley West, failing in his quest to becoming the latest in a line of prominent cops to assume political office after handing in their badges.

CTV News has declared Liberal Stephanie Bowman as the winner in the longtime Liberal riding, last held by former Premier Kathleen Wynne.

She defeated Saunders by a little over 1,800 votes.

In doing so the chartered accountant and former Bank of Canada board member will prevent Saunders from becoming the third consecutive Toronto police chief to be elected to political office after leaving the service.

Bill Blair jumped immediately into politics after spending a decade as Toronto’s top cop and has since held a number of cabinet positions in the federal Liberal government, including his current posting as Minister of Emergency Preparedness.

Julian Fantino, meanwhile, served as the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police following his tenure with the TPS but ultimately went on to hold several cabinet positions in the Harper Conservative governments of the early to mid 2000s.

“We knew this riding, we knew its history and we knew we had a fight from the start. But everybody gave it their absolute best and I couldn’t ask for anyone to do anymore than they did,” Saunders told supporters. “Here is what it boils down to. If you are a good candidate what you do is believe in what you are representing, you lean in, you do the best you can and at the end of the day the voters decide and it is loud and clear for Don Valley West that Stephanie was the choice.”

Saunders spent 38 years with the Toronto Police Service before stepping down as chief in the summer of 2020. He later served on the province’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force before being tapped as the Tory candidate in Don Valley West in March.

He was considered one of the Tory’s star candidates in the City of Toronto, which is an area where the party has traditionally struggled to make inroads.

During the campaign, however, Saunders did face some criticism for cancelling a planned appearance at an all-candidates debate at the Lawrence Park Community Church.

At the time, NDP candidate Irwin Elman called his absence “stunningly disappointing.”

Addressing supporters following his defeat, Saunders said that running for office was an “itch” he had. But he said that his political career is now “over.”

“I have itched myself out,” he said.

Don Valley West has been held by the Liberals since 2003.

In 2014, the Tory candidate Jon Kieran came close, only losing by 181 votes to Wynne.