Toronto mayoral byelection date set for June 26

Toronto will be electing its next mayor on Monday, June 26.

In a news release issued on the afternoon of Thursday, Feb. 23, Toronto City Clerk John D. Elvidge announced the date of the byelection.

This byelection had to be called after the resignation of John Tory earlier this month. Tory had been elected to his third term as Toronto’s mayor in October of 2022, but announced his resignation in a sudden press conference on the night of Friday, Feb. 10, after news of an affair he had with a former staff member became public.

Tory’s resignation officially went into effect at the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 17 after the passing of the City of Toronto’s budget earlier that week.

Speculation naming numerous possible candidates to run for mayor have been circulating around Toronto since Tory’s announced resignation.

One of those names that has come up in the speculation is that of Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford.

As of earlier this week, Bradford said he had not made a decision on if he would run for mayor.

In comments sent to Beach Metro Community News last week, Bradford said:

“I’m hearing from a lot of people who recognize we are at a pivotal moment as a city. I’ve also been receiving a lot of calls from a diverse group of people across the political spectrum talking about the future of Toronto.”

A story first reported earlier this month by CBC News had unnamed backroom members of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party identifying Bradford as a “centre right” mayoral candidate that they would view as an acceptable replacement to Tory.

Bradford’s mother Valerie is a Liberal MP for Kitchener South-Hespeler.

Beach Metro Community News asked Bradford if he was “comfortable” in a scenario where some might say he was the preferred mayoral candidate of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives and Premier Doug Ford?

Bradford said Toronto’s leadership should be about more than a battle between the left and the right.

“We need energized leadership to rebuild the promise of Toronto. That means making sure politics doesn’t become a tug of war between the left and right,” he said.

“It also means recognizing we have a lot of hard work ahead to make our city more affordable, to get it moving and ensure it’s a safe place for all of us.”

The City of Toronto’s Feb. 23 news release has laid out the timeline for June 26 mayoral byelection in the city.

The dates are “subject to City Council declaring the vacancy and passing a bylaw requiring a by-election at its meeting March 29 to 31,” said the news release.

Here is the timeline:

• Nominations will open Monday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m.
• Nominations will close Friday, May 12 at 2 p.m.
• Advance voting will take place Thursday, June 8 to Tuesday, June 13
• Byelection will be held Monday, June 26

Today’s news release said electors will also be provided with the option to vote by mail.

“During the March meeting, Council will consider recommendations from the City Clerk to formally declare the Office of Mayor vacant and to pass a bylaw requiring a by-election be held to fill the vacancy. These steps are required by provincial law,” said the city’s news release.

“The timing of the byelection is determined independent of Council by the City Clerk. Under the Municipal Elections Act, the City Clerk fixes nomination day (i.e. close of nominations) between 30 and 60 days after the passing of the bylaw declaring an office vacant. The by-election occurs 45 days after nomination day,” said the release.

“Although the City Clerk would not ordinarily fix or announce dates in advance of Council passing a bylaw, in this circumstance the City Clerk considers it to be in the best interests of the City, candidates and electors to announce the applicable byelection dates as early as possible,” said the release.

“Making the dates public now also allows the City Clerk to start making preparations including hiring election staff and booking voting locations.”

The news release reminded potential candidates that under the Municipal Elections Act, a person may not incur campaign expenses or accept campaign contributions until after they have filed nomination papers with the City Clerk.

“From an administrative point of view, a byelection for Mayor of Toronto requires the same efforts as a general election,” said the release.

The City Clerk will conduct the June 26 by-election in a similar manner to the October 24, 2022 general election.

The estimated budget for the byelection is approximately $13 million compared to the actual expenses of $14.5 million for last October’s municipal election, said today’s news release.

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