This story is a collaboration between The Trillium and Policorner.<\/p>\n
In Toronto, Olivia Chow held on. In Mississauga, a 15-year rivalry ended in an upset.<\/p>\n
Chow overcame challenger Brad Bradford to win re-election as mayor of Toronto. To secure a second victory after John Tory\u2019s resignation in 2023, Chow\u2019s pitch mixed her track record with new promises.<\/p>\n
She pledged to reduce transit fares for frequent riders, ban so-called \u201csurveillance pricing\u201d on groceries and take other steps to make groceries more affordable and keep property tax increases \u201cat or around\u201d the rate of inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, the people of Toronto have spoken,\u201d Chow proclaimed.<\/p>\n
She quickly quieted the booing from her crowd that erupted when she spoke Bradford\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no, no, no, no,\u201d she said. \u201cLook, we had our differences: we fought hard for what we believed in. Councillor Bradford brought new energy and introduced new ideas that people cared about and made his case for them, and I respect that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a concession speech, Bradford said he called Chow to give her his best wishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her something else: I want her to succeed,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd my supporters and the nearly 400,000 people that cast a vote for us tonight, they want her to succeed, too. We all do, because we all love this city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Alvin Tedjo will be Mississauga\u2019s next mayor, defeating incumbent Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie in a seismic upset.<\/p>\n
Tedjo, a one-term councillor who placed second to Parrish in 2024, defeated the incumbent and her predecessor after running as the generational alternative to both. It paid off.<\/p>\n
Addressing a roaring crowd of supporters, with his mother, wife and children standing behind him, Tedjo declared voters had made a \u201cclear and historic choice\u201d for change at city hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tremendous responsibility,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I do not take it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tedjo, who campaigned on a promise to freeze the city\u2019s share of property taxes for one year, said he provided voters a “comprehensive vision\u201d for delivering \u201creal meaningful changes\u201d to improve their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, we will begin the difficult work of making our plan a reality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Tedjo, who started the campaign in single digits, said the debates had changed the course of the race. \u201cPeople saw how vividly the previous mayors wanted to attack each other,\u201d he said. \u201cWe said: \u2018Bring it on.\u2019 They kept attacking. We just kept going back with more ideas and more positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tedjo said he would seek support from both former mayors and their supporters.<\/p>\n
With more than 95 per cent of polls reporting, Tedjo led with 71,025 votes, well ahead of Parrish at 49,779 and Crombie at 41,383.<\/p>\n
In a brief concession speech, Crombie complimented Tedjo\u2019s energy, enthusiasm, and joy he brings to politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the people of Mississauga, they have made their choice, and they have voted for change,\u201d said Crombie, proclaiming that \u201ca new generation takes the reins.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cServing Mississauga has been the honour of my life. Thank you for that privilege, and for your friendship, and for the opportunity to be part of this city\u2019s story,\u201d said Crombie.<\/p>\n
Parrish expressed some regrets about not campaigning on a simpler message, but wished Tedjo good luck in the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m at peace,\u201d said Parrish. \u201cI know I did a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no love lost between Parrish and Crombie, dating back to a heated ward council race in 2011. Crombie, with the support of former mayor Hazel McCallion, beat Parrish, a McCallion nemesis, in a contest to replace former councillor Eve Adams. While their rivalry stretched back long before either occupied the mayor\u2019s chair, it grew increasingly bitter over the course of the campaign, with competing accusations over who abandoned the city.<\/p>\n
Crombie, who traded the mayoralty to become Liberal leader in 2024, found herself at the centre of a last-minute controversy Monday after suggesting<\/a> the party\u2019s label \u201cwasn\u2019t a good fit\u201d for her. \u201cMy policies were very conservative, frankly, and yet I was running as a Liberal,\u201d she said in an hour-long interview Wednesday for a story published the night before the election. \u201cAnd I’m (a) very centrist person… I’m very fiscally responsible, but you know, socially liberal.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments earned her a public rebuke from John Fraser, who said he was \u201cdisappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf Bonnie believes she was never comfortable being a Liberal, I think that probably speaks for itself,\u201d the interim Liberal leader added.<\/p>\n Fraser, who is serving his third stint at the helm of the party, said the label isn\u2019t \u201csomething you wear when it\u2019s comfortable.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s something you believe in, and I’m pretty comfortable with that.”<\/p>\n Half an hour before voting ended, and as criticism of Crombie mounted<\/a> on social media, the former leader said she was sorry. \u201cI do feel municipal politics is more collegial and collaborative, and perhaps better suited to my approach. But my wording was imprecise,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201c I\u2019m so sorry for the confusion I caused, particularly to those Ontario Liberals who worked so hard alongside me last year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am grateful to the Ontario Liberals who trusted me to lead them. It was my honour,\u201d Crombie added. \u201cThey deserved greater care in how I expressed myself in a wide-ranging campaign interview.\u201d<\/p>\n Mississauga wasn\u2019t the only historic upset of the night: Gordon Krantz, Milton\u2019s mayor since 1980, was defeated by town councillor George Minakakis.<\/p>\n Incumbents fell across the province.<\/p>\n In Hamilton, Andrea Horwath, the former longtime leader of the Ontario NDP, was defeated by Keanin Loomis, whom she narrowly defeated in 2022. She placed third, behind Loomis and Rob Cooper.\u2019<\/p>\n In Oakville, Town and Regional Councillor Jeff Knoll unseated Rob Burton<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Niagara Falls, Lori Lococo defeated longtime mayor James Diodati.<\/p>\n In Windsor, Fred Francis defeated incumbent Drew Dilkens.<\/p>\n In Kingston, Conny Glenn defeated Bryan Paterson.<\/p>\n Clarington also has a new mayor: former police officer Tom Dingwall defeated incumbent mayor Adrian Foster.<\/p>\n Timmins\u2019 new mayor is Rob Knox, a retired police officer who defeated incumbent Michelle Boileau<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cambridge councillor Scott Hamilton is the city\u2019s new mayor<\/a> after defeating incumbent Jan Liggett.<\/p>\n And in Waterloo, Shannon Weber unseated Dorothy McCabe.<\/p>\n In Ajax, Regional Councillor Marilyn Crawford won a wide-open race after incumbent Shaun Collier decided not to seek reelection.<\/p>\n In other municipalities, incumbents hung on.<\/p>\n Steven Del Duca was re-elected to a second term as Vaughan\u2019s mayor. He led the Ontario Liberal Party from 2020 to 2022, when he resigned on the night of that year\u2019s general election, when the Liberals barely fared better than in the previous election.<\/p>\n Patrick Brown won a third term as mayor of Brampton. Brown was leader of the Ontario PC Party from 2015 until early 2018 \u2014 and for a time seemed all but certain to become premier of the province. His resignation just months before the 2018 election set up the leadership contest that Doug Ford won on his way to becoming premier.<\/p>\n Incumbent mayor Mark Sutcliffe was reelected in Ottawa, defeating challenger Jeff Leiper. Alex Nuttall was reelected in Barrie<\/a>, and Matthew Shoemaker was re-elected in Sault\u00a0Ste. Marie<\/a>.<\/p>\n