{"id":794142,"date":"2026-07-11T03:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T03:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/794142\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T03:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T03:01:14","slug":"former-immigration-minister-chris-alexander-mulls-toronto-mayoral-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/794142\/","title":{"rendered":"Former immigration minister Chris Alexander mulls Toronto mayoral bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Former immigration minister Chris Alexander, shown in the House of Commons in 2015, is deciding whether he will run in Toronto’s mayoral election, scheduled for Oct. 26.The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Former federal Conservative citizenship and immigration minister Chris Alexander says he\u2019s seriously considering running for Toronto mayor and would run what he describes as a non-partisan campaign, saying he wants to focus on improving core services and strengthening the city\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Mr. Alexander, a one-term federal MP who represented the eastern suburb of Ajax-Pickering, served in former prime minister Stephen Harper\u2019s cabinet from 2013 to 2015. He grew up in midtown Toronto and moved back to the city in 2022, where he lives in Summerhill with his wife and three children.<\/p>\n

Mr. Alexander said he\u2019s being encouraged by many individuals and organizations to run for the city\u2019s top job and is weighing his decision, which will be made \u201cquite soon.\u201d He declined to say who has been encouraging him but said that would be revealed if he decides to run. He said he has also spoken to former Toronto mayor John Tory, who confirmed to The Globe and Mail that he offered Mr. Alexander general advice.<\/p>\n

Mr. Alexander said the current field of candidates \u2013 with Mayor Olivia Chow and city councillor Brad Bradford considered the two front-runners \u2013 is \u201crelatively thin,\u201d and he thinks the contest warrants an outsider with a \u201cfresh look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need centrist leadership that brings solutions,\u201d Mr. Alexander said in an interview on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be running a non-partisan campaign with the support of people I know and already lots of people I didn\u2019t know before, but with the door wide open to all of Toronto\u2019s diversity, all of the people that contribute to its economic, cultural and social success.\u201d<\/p>\n

His potential candidacy was first reported by the Toronto Star. The election date is Oct. 26.<\/p>\n

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Mr. Alexander grew up in midtown Toronto before attending university and moving to Ajax, Ont. After the COVID-19 pandemic, his family moved to Nairobi, Kenya, for six months, and settled back in Toronto in 2022. A former diplomat, he served as ambassador to Afghanistan and lived in that country for six years before running for federal politics.<\/p>\n

His time in federal politics was coloured by an incident during the 2015 federal campaign, when his party proposed a \u201cbarbaric cultural practices\u201d tip line to report incidents of honour killings, forced marriages and polygamy. Mr. Alexander lost his seat to the Liberals in that election.<\/p>\n

Mr. Alexander said while forced marriage remains a problem, the party erred in its method.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we approached it in that campaign was a mistake. I\u2019m on the public record regretting the way it was handled, and that\u2019s in the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood politicians learn from their mistakes and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Alexander said his career has focused on \u201ccomplex problem solving,\u201d which cities need, including on transit, economic drivers of growth, taxes and services.<\/p>\n

He said he hasn\u2019t heard anyone focus on the big picture for Toronto\u2019s economy, taking into account the financial sector, mining and natural resources, and advanced manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to articulate a vision for Toronto and the GTA that helps our provincial and federal leaders with the agenda they\u2019re pursuing,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s about being a strong partner on economic issues to other levels of government.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the province\u2019s plans to expand Toronto\u2019s downtown waterfront Billy Bishop airport to allow for jets, Mr. Alexander said the debate has become polarized and won\u2019t pronounce on a side either way. Recently the Ontario government passed a law that removed the City of Toronto\u2019s decision-making powers over the airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would want to lead a discussion that forged a consensus about what role Billy Bishop airport plays in the city\u2019s life, how it can remain a driver of the economy, while protecting the island and waterfront legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think those two goals can be met, but only if you have a deep, meaningful debate with all of those involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if the Ontario government is interested in debate, Mr. Alexander said: \u201cI think you would want an outcome that is supported by Torontonians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty of room for debate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Former immigration minister Chris Alexander, shown in the House of Commons in 2015,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":794143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,3302,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-794142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-toronto","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/794143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}