WARMINGTON: Voters have decided and now Toronto must give Olivia Chow a fair chance
Article content
This celebration was being enjoyed not just on the dance floor but up on the stage, too.
This election-win blow-out bash was rocking, rapping and twerking.
Newly elected to the position of Toronto mayor, Olivia Chow said not only was her late political legend husband Jack Layton with her but so were his children and their grandchildren.
This was a big moment for her. Huge. The stuff of movies.
“Toronto is a place for second chances,” said Chow.
She is living proof.
What a political comeback. It’s a comeback as well for the political left. With the kind of energy at this function, it was clear left-leaning political supporters have waited a long time to gain control of Toronto City Hall again and were savouring every moment of Chow’s sweet byelection victory to become the city’s 66th mayor.
They partied until the wee hours at the Chow victory bash at The Great Hall at Dovercourt and Queen. But Chow was up early and right to work doing the rounds and getting ready to take the reins, vacated by John Tory, on July 13.
“I want to get to work now because there is no much to do,” said Chow.
Toronto’s incoming mayor said she has already talked with Premier Doug Ford and holds no grudges toward him saying she would be an “unmitigated disaster” if elected.
“That’s campaign talk,” she told John Moore on Newstalk 1010 with a laugh. “We all know that.”
She said she and Ford actually have a good relationship. In being together for “eight months” in 2014 when she ran against first his incumbent brother Rob and then Doug, who came in to finish the race when the mayor was diagnosed with cancer.
Chow told Moore she will be able to work with council and all level of governments: “I’m a moderate person who is not extravagant.”
While all goodwill should be offered, when you have shootings outside daycare centres, on the TTC or regular people being attacked on their way to the store, there will be no getting around the fact that Chow will have to deal with the crime issue. If she does, she will have accomplished something Tory did not.
In addition to laughing off Ford’s earlier tough statements, Chow offering to bring in runner-up Ana Bailao was her signalling she’s prepared to be reasonable in her approach — although somewhat coy.
For those fearing an immediate special tax bump, or increases as high as 25%, she said whatever happens won’t be immediate.
“March 2024,” she said is when the issue of the budget will be dealt with. “It will take some time to see what city service’s need.”
It’s going to be quite a political battle because while Chow can’t be blamed for the state of the city, those who oppose her will have to ensure Toronto does not become Canada’s San Francisco or Seattle where crime and poverty are out of control.
There needs to be some balance in approach. One strident, political style will not work.
At Anthony Furey’s post-election get-together in Scarborough, former federal finance minister in the Harper government Joe Oliver offered some sage advice that he thinks will help the new mayor.
“My advice would be for Olivia to make sure she steps out of her comfort zone and talks to people not only in her own circle,” he said. “She should make sure she speaks with small business, medium business and those who invest in the city.”
Oliver reminds no social program pays for itself and no tax increase tackles a deficit. Chow seems to be aware of what Oliver raises and told Moore she will work with everyone.
“People from all over the world come here, rich poor, millionaires, billionaires living in harmony in the city,” which is the “unique quality of Toronto that I would like to tap into so we could work together for a common cause so the city become a better place for everyone.”
What she’s trying to say to her detractors, many of whom voted for other candidates including Bailao, is to give her a chance.
A fair chance is what she has earned thanks to the voters who elected her into an office she has worked for decades to obtain. She was a longtime city councillor and MP in Ottawa and while her ideology and her current platform need to be debated, there should be no debate about her love for the city.
“Olivia’s track record and many years of service which started at City Hall paid off for her,” said Tory loyalist Justin Van Dette. “I was at City Hall when Mel Lastman was mayor and I saw her work across party lines and she did work very closely with Mel on issues such as homelessness and child care. I know for a fact that all of the former municipalities that made up Metro Toronto are in her heart. I know she will work with Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau.”
Even those who are skeptical, if not cynical, know Chow is a good woman who deserves to be respected. She, in my experience, has always offered respect back to her political opponents and media critics. Like her husband, Chow leaves the acrimony on the debate floor and is cordial with everybody in all walks of life. They offer a fierce political battle but are not petty, belittling or mean.
Time will tell as she governs and grows into the job both she and Layton wanted. It was interesting to see a bicycle with a Chow sign in the basket parked out front of her party because it’s a metaphor for Chow’s vision of Toronto. She’s not the first to have a vision of endless bike lanes but for those wanting to pull them out, it’s clear the bike crowd has won and those looking for a law-and-order, safety agenda were a distant third and fourth with Mark Saunders and Furey’s candidacies.
Chow, instead, will focus on her agenda. She told Moore her No. 1 priority is to “unlock” the “affordable housing projects “from the “non-profit-sector” that have been “stuck at City Hall” for two years and get shovels in the ground to get more units built. If she achieves that, and is able to get people living in parks off the street, Chow’s mayorship will be a success. If she is unable to make it happen, there will be plenty of challengers in 2026 including, perhaps, Bailao and Furey.
The bottom line is being mayor of Toronto is no picnic, no matter who holds it and what their political bent is. By no fault of her own, Chow is inheriting a city in a post-pandemic mess with a huge debt load and changing economy.
It was understandable to see Chow and her supporters party it up to enjoy her historic win but the truth is the party is over and reality will soon set in.
It’s now hard work time.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.