Former police chief Mark Saunders to run for Mayor of Toronto

Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders confirmed he would run to become the city’s next mayor, citing a desire to make public transit safe for riders and expand affordable housing.

Saunders served as police chief from 2015 to 2020, when he retired. Saunders was ultimately replaced by interim police chief James Ramer, who served until the recent appointment of Myron Demkiw.

In a statement, Saunders specifically mentioned public transit security, noting, “If people don’t feel safe walking down the street or on the TTC, nothing else matters.”

“We have many problems in Toronto to tackle, and it starts with public safety,” Saunders said. “I don’t want to see any more lockdowns of elementary schools. Not another story of a woman getting attacked on a streetcar. No more gangs shooting up townhouses where children are sleeping. Enough.”

Saunders, the city’s first Black police chief, said Toronto is “at a tipping point” and fears local businesses will suffer if violence continues to plague city streets.

“Because if people don’t feel safe, businesses will leave, jobs will leave, and people will lose hope. Toronto could continue down a negative path,” he added.

“Toronto is at a tipping point, and we need to get this right, right now. Because if we don’t, we’ll feel the repercussions for years to come.”

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The veteran of policing said that he’s never experienced this current level of fear of the TTC following several high-profile violent attacks that prompted the city to deploy additional officers at various stations. The police service recently said the increased presence had resulted in 314 arrests and officers giving more than 220 referrals to people in need of social supports like shelter, food and mental health services.

“Too many TTC riders are feeling anxious. I own a car but usually take the subway, and recently spoke to a young woman who said it’s her first time back in months, but she’s still nervous,” Saunders said.

“A man told me he’d rather spend an hour in heavy traffic driving to work because he’s afraid to ride the subway. In my decades of service as a Toronto police officer, I never experienced this level of fear creep across the city.”

Before becoming police chief in 2015, Saunders spent years dealing with street gangs, combating drug trafficking, and working with the emergency task force.

“As a former Chief of Police for our city, I know that simply adding more police or more money isn’t the solution,” Saunders added.

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“These are Band-Aids, and Band-Aids don’t fix problems. Politicians love to throw money at things and call it a job done. But we have real challenges in how programs are delivered on the ground that will take hard work to fix if we want long-term results. As mayor, I will lead that hard work.”

Following his 2020 retirement, Saunders joined Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine task force and was later named the province’s special advisor for the Ontario Place redevelopment project. His most recent political endeavour saw Saunders run for the Ontario PC party in the 2022 June election (Don Valley West riding).

Saunders, who placed second, lost to Liberal Stephanie Bowman, who received 44 per cent of the vote.

Toronto residents will head back to the polls in June of this year to vote for a new mayor after John Tory resigned in February when he admitted to an affair with a former staffer. City council is expected to declare the mayor’s office vacant at its next meeting on March 29 before passing a bylaw requiring a byelection to be held on June 26.

Nominations for candidates will then open on April 3, and advance voting will begin starting June 8.

With files from Mark McAllister of CityNews