Ontario municipal election 2022: Mayoral races to watch

It’s municipal election day in Ontario and CityNews is taking a look at some of the high-profile names running for mayor, including former provincial party leaders and one well-known Toronto city councillor.

There are 26 candidates running for mayor in the City of Toronto and a full list with contact information can be found here. The final mayoral debate was held on Monday where incumbent John Tory, his main rival Gil Peñalosa, as well as Chloe Brown, Sarah Climenhaga and Stephen Punwasi made their final pitch to voters.

Everything you need to know about how and where you can vote in the Toronto municipal election can be found here.

Here is a look at other mayoral races with big names to watch in Ontario.

High-profile mayoral candidates

Hamilton

Former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath is running for mayor of Hamilton.

Horwath stepped down as party leader — a role she held for 13 years — following the provincial election in June, after failing to unseat Premier Doug Ford and his Conservative government. Her party held on to Official Opposition status.

A recent Mainstreet research poll suggest Horwath holds a comfortable lead over her closest challenger heading into Monday’s vote. Horwath is up against eight other candidates, including Bob Bratina, who previously served as mayor and was a Hamilton MP.

Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger announced he would not seek re-election after serving three terms in office.

Horwath is leaving her MPP seat in Hamilton Centre to run in the mayoral race. She previously served as a city councillor in Hamilton before heading to Queen’s Park.

Vaughan

Like Horwath, Steven Del Duca announced he would be running for mayor of Vaughan in August after stepping down as leader of the provincial Liberal Party following his election loss to Doug Ford in June.

Del Duca received a big endorsement from the city’s outgoing mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, who has served in the role for the last 12 years.

Bevilacqua said he would be voting for Del Duca, claiming the former Liberal leader “has the experience, energy, and vision to continue delivering strong, stable, and accountable leadership at city hall.”

The former Liberal leader is widely seen as the frontrunner and is going up against six other candidates, including Sandra Yeung Racco, who has served five terms on Vaughan’s city council.

Brampton

After much speculation about his future this summer, Patrick Brown announced he is running for re-election as mayor of Brampton.

He made the announcement after he was booted out of the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada. Brown was disqualified from the federal leadership race over an allegation that he breached federal financing laws.

A group of five Brampton city councillors released a statement shortly after Brown was forced out of the federal race, claiming he has what they describe as a “clear and alarming pattern of behaviour.”

Brown entered the Conservative leadership race without resigning his job as mayor and previously said he would consider running again in Brampton’s October municipal election if he thought he couldn’t win the federal job.

Despite the scandals and the implication that the mayoral job was his second choice, experts seem to believe Brown is still the favourite in his second campaign for mayor.

His main contender appears to be Nikki Kaur, a former municipal employee who brought forward unverified allegations as a whistleblower against top city officials. She has a team of political heavy hitters working for her, hoping to take down Brown.

Wasaga Beach

It may not be in the GTA, but one mayoral candidate in a town north of the city has strong ties to Toronto city council.

Former councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who was well-known for making headlines during his time in council, is running for mayor of Wasaga Beach. Mammoliti lost his North York seat in the 2018 election after more than two decades as a councillor.

Leslie Farkas, the owner of a commercial aviation company, is one of his contenders. Farkas ran for town council in the last election but lost. The other two candidates running for mayor are incumbent Nina Bifolchi, who was elected to her first term in 2018, and Brian Smith, who was the mayor prior to Bifolchi.

Mammoliti’s legacy also may continue in Toronto as his son, Christopher, is running for his father’s former councillor seat in Humber River-Black Creek.

Other key races

Milton

This Greater Toronto Area municipality is believed to be home to the country’s longest-serving mayor. And he’s running again. Gord Krantz is seeking a 14th term as mayor of one of Canada’s fastest-growing municipalities. Krantz has three challengers, though they are not likely to unseat him, as he garnered 82 per cent of the vote in 2018.

Ottawa

Jim Watson is not running again, so the mayor’s race is an open contest in Ottawa. There are 14 contenders, but the top names are city councillor Catherine McKenney, former journalist Mark Sutcliffe, and former provincial cabinet minister and former Ottawa mayor, Bob Chiarelli. McKenney and Sutcliffe have secured some high-profile endorsements and polling suggests the race will come down to them, though several surveys have McKenney in the lead.

London

Mayor Ed Holder, the latest in a series of one-term leaders of the southwestern Ontario city, is not running again, leaving an open race for the city’s top job. Josh Morgan, a city councillor since 2014 and deputy mayor since 2020, and Khalil Ramal, a former member of provincial parliament for London-Fanshawe square off against eight other contenders. Morgan and Ramal both cite housing affordability as a top issue in their platforms.

Woodstock

Incumbent mayor Trevor Birtch is running again despite facing criminal charges. The London Free Press reported that Birtch is facing six sexual assault charges involving two women and until recent debate appearances he appeared not to be actively campaigning, though he does want to retain his post.

Thunder Bay

Ken Boshcoff has previously served as mayor of this northern Ontario city from 1997 to 2003 and is vying for the role again. He was also a Liberal MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River from 2004 to 2008, and was elected locally in Thunder Bay again in 2010 as a councillor at large. Boshcoff made a failed attempt at the mayoralty in 2014, when he lost to the incumbent. This time, he faces four other candidates, including Peng You, a current councillor at large in the city.

With files from Patricia D’Cunha and Cynthia Mulligan of CityNews, and The Canadian Press