Monday’s Ontario municipal election was full of surprises as longtime Milton mayor Gord Krantz lost after more than 40 years as head of the town’s council, while voters also replaced incumbent mayors in Mississauga, Oakville, Hamilton, Niagara Falls and elsewhere.
For Toronto, it was status quo as incumbent mayor Olivia Chow overcame an early deficit to comfortably defeat challenger Brad Bradford.
It was also an early night for poll watchers in Brampton, as incumbent mayor Patrick Brown won a decisive majority in a field of 12 candidates.
Surprising results in 2026 Ontario municipal election
Other results were perhaps surprising, including in Mississauga where several experienced political stalwarts were vying for the top job.
Here’s a look at some of southern Ontario’s most notable election results, including upsets and a stunning result in Hamilton.
Mississauga mayor-elect pledges transit improvements, crackdown on auto theft and tax relief
Alvin Tedjo, a former Mississauga city councillor, scored a surprising win over incumbent mayor Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie.
The Mississauga mayor-elect promised infrastructure improvements to reduce commute times, a crackdown on auto theft, and to help homeowners struggling with rising property taxes.
“People just want to have more control over their own lives,” Tedjo proclaimed in a campaign video posted to YouTube on election day.
In his victory speech carried by CityNews, Tedjo acknowledged that the next four years won’t be easy but promised “a better future for the people of our city.”
“I love this city so much and as your mayor, I look forward to starting the hard work of putting our plan into action, to build that better future for every single resident here in Mississauga,” Tedjo said. “Together, we will build the best city in Canada.”
Tedjo also thanked his opponents — including Parrish, Crombie and Dipika Damerla — for their years of service to the community.
Parrish, a longtime former Liberal MP who was elected Mississauga mayor in 2024, was among the favourites to win the race, along with Crombie, who served as mayor from 2014 to 2024 before stepping down to become Ontario Liberal Party leader. Parrish and Crombie finished second and third respectively.
Dipika Damerla, a former Mississauga councillor, placed fourth.
Stunning mayoral defeat in Hamilton: Loomis beats Cooper and incumbent Horwath
Loomis, the president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction and former president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, nearly tripled Horwath’s vote count. Horwath finished a distant third.
Challenger Rob Cooper, a former suburban city councillor, placed second, about 10,000 votes behind Loomis.
In a victory speech excerpted by Global News, Loomis touted a comeback story following his narrow loss to Horwath four years earlier. He thanked Horwath for her decades of political service, including her time as a councillor and leader of the Ontario NDP. He also thanked his other mayoral opponents for a spirited race.
In a city reeling from the recent announcement of up to 500 layoffs by Stelco, Loomis vowed to fight for steelworkers and their families.
“My pledge is to bring business, labour and every level of government together to protect jobs and to make sure the support that Ottawa and Queen’s Park is putting on the table right now reaches the families who need it,” Loomis said.
Loomis acknowledged that some issues, including homelessness, rising property taxes and concerns over deteriorating infrastructure, took years to build and could take “many years” to fix, but pledged to begin addressing the needs of the electorate on Day 1.
“This is an incredible opportunity and an enormous responsibility, and I have never been more hopeful about this city,” said Loomis. “Look what we’ve built together. Now let’s go bring hope back to every single corner of this city.”
Milton: Canada’s longest serving mayor Gord Krantz loses to George Minakakis
In his victory speech, Minakakis touted his corporate experience and pledged to focus on building a stronger local economy.
He thanked Krantz for more than six decades of public service, after he was first elected to council in 1965.
Minakakis pledged to maintain Milton as a town, not turn it into a city, and to bring back a traditional Canada Day celebration, with fireworks.
“I think what resonated with everyone was that we’re heading into a whole new era of growth,” Minakakis told the Milton Canadian Champion. “There’s so many things happening socially, economically, environmentally, technologically and people are feeling that.”
Krantz has served as mayor for 46 years, almost a decade longer than the late Hazel McCallion, who retired after 36 years as Mississauga’s mayor.
On election night, he thanked the people of Milton for their support before pointing out he was one of several mayoral incumbents — notably in Oakville and Mississauga — who were voted out of office on Monday.
“I got caught up in a bit of a trend. Instead of me retiring on my own, the citizens decided it was time for me to retire — maybe they were right there. But anyway, I’ve said on a couple of occasions already this evening, I believe that I’ve laid a pretty good foundation for the people in the town of Milton,” Krantz said.
Oakville: longtime councillor Jeff Knoll defeats Rob Burton
Incumbent Oakville mayor Rob Burton was soundly defeated in Monday’s election as longtime councillor Jeff Knoll won a plurality of support in a race with four strong contenders.
Knoll’s win ends a 20-year run for Burton, Oakville’s longest-serving mayor.
Knoll received 36 per cent of the vote, which put him well ahead of Sean O’Meara, who earned 22 per cent of the vote, and Burton, who fell to third place with 20 per cent of the vote.
In a campaign video, Knoll pledged to help Oakville manage growth carefully, ensure infrastructure keeps pace and stand up for the community if Queen’s Park interferes in local planning.
Knoll also promised to prioritize public safety with stronger co-ordination between the town, police, schools, public health and community partners.
Halton Hills: Ann Lawlor loses to single-term councillor Jason Brass
Brass, first elected as a councillor in 2022, won more than 55 per cent of the vote, compared to just over 30 per cent for Lawlor.
Brass ran on a platform centred on managing growth, protecting local heritage and maintaining fiscal responsibility across Halton Hills through the implementation of a budget committee.
“I look forward to the next four years,” he said on election night. “I love this community. Let’s make it a better place to live.”
Niagara Falls: 4-term incumbent Jim Diodati falls to Lori Lococo
Niagara region was full of surprises on election night, including a shocking result in Niagara Falls, where four-term incumbent mayor Jim Diodati fell to Lori Lococo, a two-term city councillor.
It was a comfortable win for Lococo, who earned more than 51 per cent of the votes compared to just over 41 per cent for Diodati, who has served as mayor since 2010.
Lococo will become Niagara Falls’ first female leader of city council.
In her victory speech carried by CBC News, Lococo pledged to focus on affordability, the city budget and spending.
“We can do better and we will do better,” she said. “We don’t have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem.”
Lococo pledged to work with the province and regional council to address homelessness, mental health, addiction and health care, as well as policing, infrastructure and transit.
Fort Erie: Tom Insinna defeats incumbent Wayne Redekop
In Fort Erie, Tom Insinna soundly defeated incumbent mayor Wayne Redekop with 52.2 per cent of the vote.
Clarington: Incumbent Adrian Foster loses to Tom Dingwall
At his election night celebration, Dingwall said he will enjoy a good night’s sleep following the win, but is looking forward to getting to work in his new role.
He cited “online hatred and division” as barriers to be overcome.
“We will have to work very hard to bring everyone back together,” he said. “I hope to reach out to all new council members and hopefully connect with them in the next couple of days.”
Caledon: Christina Early wins open race
The race featured no incumbent after Caledon mayor Annette Groves announced earlier this year she would not run for re-election.
The municipality of more than 75,000 people faces pressures from urban sprawl, traffic issues and Greenbelt preservation.
— With files from Roland Cilliers, Christian Collington, Kevin Werner, Laura Barton, Moya Dillon and Sabrina Almeida