‘I just want to be me for a while’: Coun. Perks not running in upcoming Toronto election
Posted April 30, 2026 8:16 am.
Last Updated April 30, 2026 8:05 pm.
Veteran Toronto city councillor Gord Perks confirms with CityNews he won’t be running in the upcoming municipal election in the fall, after two decades at City Hall.
“Representing the people of Parkdale-High Park has been the honour of a lifetime. I’ll miss it, but it’s time for me to try a new adventure,” Perks told CityNews.
Perks, viewed as one of the City Hall’s most influential and polarizing voices, was first elected in 2006 in the Parkdale-High Park ward.
He became a leading figure on city council’s progressive wing, known for his command of council procedure and impactful speeches, and has been an advocate for affordable housing and transit.
Perks said the changes made to City Hall in recent years has prompted him to not run again.
“While this job is an astonishing privilege, there’s some things that have changed — partly because of provincial law, doubling the size of wards, the ‘strong mayors’ system, taking us out of budgeting,” he told CityNews.
“But also I’ve never really liked power, I don’t like the trappings of it, I don’t like people calling me councillor. I just want to be me for a while.”
Perks said the best part of his job was interacting with people in his neighbourhood but with changes to the way the city is run, he is not able to give everyone in his ward his undivided attention.
“Probably my favourite part of the job was spent in school gyms with the people I represent, trying to design a neighbourhood that we could all love — that’s the best part of the job. But by doubling the wards, the Premier has made it harder for me to do that with twice as many people, each of them only gets half as much attention. So it’s not the same job as when I first ran,” he said.
During the mayoral tenures of the late Rob Ford and former mayor John Tory, Perks was often seen as someone who spoke against cost-cutting measures affecting public services.
“I disagreed profoundly with their austerity agenda. The city we built together by investing in public services is the best way to make sure the people who live here have great lives. Cutting those services, which is what those Conservative mayors wanted to do made Toronto a worse place to live so I fought them with everything I had,” he said.
During his time in municipal politics, Perks has been a member of the City’s various committees, including Budget, Parks and Environment, Planning and Growth Management, Public Works and Infrastructure, Planning and Housing, and Affordable Housing and Tenants Issues.
“Councillor Gord Perks has so much integrity and knowledge of the City of Toronto, always speaks truth to power, we’re really going to miss him. Under his leadership, we’re building more housing than ever, we are building them faster and approving them faster,” Mayor Olivia Chow said at an unrelated news conference on Thursday.
Perks’ departure sets up what’s expected to be a closely watched and competitive race to replace him in Parkdale-High Park.
He has not said if he will endorsing any specific candidate running for mayor or councillor in the upcoming election.
The municipal election will be held in Oct. 26. Candidate nominations open at 8:30 a.m. on May 1 and close at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21.
