TORONTO (June 1, 2023) – The people of Toronto have a rare opportunity on June 26. In what promises to be the most competitive leadership election in decades, who we elect as mayor will set a new course for our city.
For too many of us, the city does not work — public spaces and services from transit to shelters are too crowded, rising cost pressures, a feeling of unsafety, a lack of agency. We’re drowning in demands that exceed our resources.
Divisions across our politics, our economy and our society are growing. Toronto’s next mayor will have tough decisions to make about the city’s budget. And many of the mayoral candidates are understandably focusing on individual ideas — affordable housing, safer transit and services people can rely on.
But plans alone aren’t sufficient for our next mayor to be successful. Because just having “the answers” — and beware of any politician who claims to know all the answers! — isn’t enough.
Our new mayor will have to combine bold, practical policies with a sense of mayoral leadership for tomorrow. Leadership that requires:
Collaboration
Our next mayor must be more effective at building bridges across political and ideological lines, across all levels of government, and at genuinely engaging a wide range of interests, including the city’s civil service, council members, business and not-for-profit leaders, unions, academics, and people on the front-lines of change-making.
Solutions that create both economic competitiveness and a more equitable quality of life to close the Prosperity Gap don’t come from a mayor alone. It requires the collaboration of residents, policymakers, developers, investors, service providers and even underutilized models like land trusts.
Conviction
Our next mayor must have a clear vision for the city, and the courage to pursue occasionally unpopular means to deliver on it. That means a laser focus on growing the shared success of the city, addressing our standard of living to close the Affordability Gap, and a credible plan to pay for all of it.
We also need our next mayor to be Toronto’s No. 1 negotiator. The resources to confront Toronto’s big challenges won’t come from our property tax base alone — we need a tough stand to get more resources from other orders of government. And what’s the best leverage when you are negotiating? Knowledge that the people are brought along, and behind you 100 per cent.
Compassion
Our next mayor must genuinely seek to be equitable and inclusive, to repair past wrongs and to lift up those in greatest need; to be a leader who truly represents and reflects the people they serve.
More compassion will help to close the Trust Gap, so that Toronto’s diverse population has renewed confidence that those who we entrust with our right to have a say, will deliver on their promises and treat us with care and respect. To make meaningful progress, focus must be placed on Truth and Reconciliation for Indigenous communities, and tackling the increasing polarization and disinformation in public discourse.
Both of our organizations work to develop and engage civic-minded leaders who want to change our world, for the better. But these leaders need support from a mayor who is open to new ideas, and relentless in pursuing solutions from every corner of the city.
Collaborative, courageous and compassionate leadership may not always win points in the zero-sum game of political campaigning in 2023. But when you scratch the surface, it’s what most Torontonians are looking for — and it’s essential to solving the most urgent challenges facing our city today.
How we engage between now and election day, and our choices on June 26, will decide what leadership, as well as what agenda, we want. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Listen. Get involved. Cast your vote. The future of our city needs all of us.
