Ontarians headed to the polls yesterday to elect Mayors, city councillors and school board trustees as province-wide municipal elections get underway. Over 6,300 candidates across the province ran on platforms including housing affordability, infrastructure and public transit, COVID-19 recovery and mental health.
About 35% of eligible voters voted in this election, similar to the 2018 municipal elections, though more municipalities than ever are opting into electronic voting. 217 of the 417 municipalities offered residents phone and online voting options, up from 175 municipalities in 2018.
In Ontario’s largest city, incumbent Toronto Mayor John Tory was re-elected with nearly 62% of the vote. Nine new faces will be serving on Toronto council this term — seven newbies and two who are returning after sitting out a term.
In Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe defeated Catherine McKenney after a hotly contested campaign, with over 51% of the votes. Sutcliffe will be joined by 11 new councillors and 13 incumbents around the council table.
Steven Del Duca won a close race in Vaughan against Sandra Yeung Racco. Del Duca secured 38.06% of the vote compared to Yeung Racco’s 37%.
Hamilton also saw a highly contested mayoral race, with former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath narrowly edging out Keanin Loomis, the former President and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Horwath earned almost 42% of the vote compared to Loomis, with nearly 41%.
Northern Ontario’s four largest cities — Greater Sudbury, North Bay, Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie — all have new mayors, as the incumbents in each city did not run again. Taking office are Michelle Boileau in Timmins, Matthew Shoemaker in the Sault, Peter Chirico in North Bay and Paul Lefebvre in Greater Sudbury.
In Milton, Mayor Gord Krantz clinched a historic victory securing his 14th term, edging out nearest rival Zeeshan Hamid by fewer than 1,000 votes, taking 49.51% of the votes to Hamid’s 45.18%. The night also saw Sammy Ijaz winning the Ward 3 regional councillor race against Mike Cluett (incumbent) and Rick Di Lorenzo. Ijaz is one of three new faces on Milton council, including Adil Khalqi (Ward 3) and Sarah Marshall (Ward 4).
Burlington voters have overwhelmingly chosen the status quo as every incumbent will hold onto their seats in the 2022 municipal election, including Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.
Oakville’s incumbent Rob Burton has been elected to his fifth term as Oakville’s mayor, beating out challenger Julia Hanna by fewer than 1,000 votes.
Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr beat out challengers Jane McKenna and Andrea Grebenc to hold on to the job of regional chair for a fifth term.
After a turbulent year and mayoral campaign, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown secured a decisive victory with 59.79% of the vote.
Incumbent Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie will serve for another term gaining over 75% of votes.
Incumbent Richmond Hill Mayor David West has been re-elected with 70.18% of the vote against three other candidates.
In Markham, incumbent Mayor Frank Scarpitti won around 64% of the vote.
In London, voters chose Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan as the city’s 65th mayor. The two-term councillor, and the city’s second-in-command since 2020, secured the top job on Monday night, beating out nine other candidates vying for the position, including former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal, who ranked second.
Windsor residents re-elected incumbent Drew Dilkens for his third term with over 50% of the total vote against six other candidates.
Durham voters have chosen John Henry to remain as the Regional Chair for the region.
Oshawa elected Mayor Dan Carter. In Ajax, Mayor Shaun Collier is back for another 4 years. Elizabeth Roy celebrated has been elected Mayor of Whitby.
For an excellent interactive map of winners across the province, visit the Association of Municipalities of Ontario website.