Toronto mayoral byelection to be held on June 26
A byelection to replace former mayor John Tory has been tentatively set for June 26.
Toronto City Clerk John D. Elvidge announced the date in a news release issued on Thursday afternoon.
The byelection date is still subject to city council declaring the office vacant and passing a bylaw requiring a byelection at its next meeting on March 29.
In the release, city officials acknowledged the clerk “would not ordinarily fix or announce dates” in advance of council meeting to pass a bylaw.
But they said the clerk considered it to “be in the best interests of the city, candidates and electors to announce the applicable by-election dates as early as possible.”
Tory stepped down on Feb. 17, one week after disclosing he had been involved in a relationship with a staff member.
“Making the dates public now also allows the city clerk to start making preparations including hiring election staff and booking voting locations,” the release notes.
There had been some speculation that a special meeting could have been convened to move up the vote but Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said earlier this week that while she wanted an election "done as soon as possible,” city staff need “time and preparation” to prepare for what will likely be the biggest byelection in Canadian history.
The estimated budget for the mayoral byelection is roughly $13 million, the city said.
October’s municipal election carried a $14.5 million cost as a point of comparison.
“I don’t think we can underestimate the work the city clerk has to put into this,” McKelvie told CP24.
Elvidge said that nominations would open on April 3 at 8:30 a.m. and close on May 12 at 2 p.m.
Advance voting is expected to take place from June 8 to June 13.
At this point in remains unclear who will run in the byelection, though city councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford have both said they are exploring a potential run, as has Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter and former police chief Mark Saunders. Gil Penalosa, who finished a distant second to Tory in October's election, has also said that he intends to run again.
Tory's former deputy mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong had floated the possibility of a run but said earlier on Thursday that he had decided against it.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Stormy Daniels is expected to appear at Trump's hush money trial on Tuesday
Donald Trump returns to the hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses including porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.