Candidates for Toronto’s October municipal election announced
Posted August 20, 2022 11:28 am.
Last Updated August 21, 2022 6:36 pm.
The day after Friday’s deadline to enter to run in Ontario’s upcoming municipal elections, the City of Toronto released its list of candidates running for the positions of mayor, councillor, and school board trustee.
Toronto City Clerk, John Elvidge, has certified 372 candidates to run in the October 24 municipal election, the City said in a release on Saturday.
There’s 31 candidates running for mayor, 177 candidates running for school board trustee, and 164 candidates running for councillor.
There are fewer candidates running in the 2022 municipal race compared to 2018, when there were 501 in total. 35 candidates ran for Mayor John Tory’s job, 242 for councillor, and 224 for school board trustee.
RELATED: Friday afternoon marks deadline to run in Ontario’s upcoming municipal elections
Experts recently told CityNews that fewer candidates in this fall election was a warning signal.
Myer Siemiatycki, Professor Emeritus at Toronto Metropolitan University, said, “I think this is a warning signal about the state of public interest, engagement, participation in democracy and political institutions.”
Political analysts have suggested the dip in interest has been due to a few factors, including the reduction in council seats during the last election and the increased constituency workload.
The next term of office for Toronto’s mayor, councillors, and school board trustees is between Nov. 15, 2022, and Nov. 14, 2026.
You can find a list of candidates running in this year’s municipal election on the Toronto Elections webpage.
— With files from Mark McAllister, John Marchesan, and Nick Westoll.
