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Toronto’s municipal election on Monday produced a significant shake-up at city hall, with seven new councillors winning seats, several incumbents losing their bids for re-election, and one former councillor making a return to office. Eighteen sitting councillors held onto their seats. The results mark a notable shift in the composition of Toronto City Hall heading into the next term.
Among the most prominent departures is longtime councillor Frances Nunziata, the longest-serving member of city council. Mayoral candidate Brad Bradford also lost his seat after his bid for mayor fell short. Olivia Chow defeated Bradford in the mayoral race. Chow, who won the 2023 mayoral byelection, will now serve her first full term as mayor.
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New Faces Joining Toronto City Council
Diana Chan McNally will represent Ward 4 Parkdale-High Park. She fills the seat left by Gord Perks, a longtime councillor who retired earlier this year.
In Ward 5 York South-Weston, Chiara Padovani succeeds Nunziata after multiple previous attempts to win the position. Padovani’s victory ends Nunziata’s long tenure on council.
Former councillor Mike Layton returns to city hall as the representative for Ward 11 University-Rosedale. That seat became available after Dianne Saxe chose to run in Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth instead. Saxe finished third in that race, and Sara Ehrhardt won the ward. Ehrhardt takes over from Paula Fletcher, who announced her retirement this past summer.
Curran Stikuts will represent Ward 13 Toronto Centre, replacing incumbent Chris Moise. Meanwhile, former Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith will take over Ward 19 Beaches-East York. Erskine-Smith, who earlier this year sought the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, fills the seat vacated by Bradford.
In Ward 23 Scarborough North, former federal Liberal MP Shaun Chen defeated incumbent Jamaal Myers. Chen had resigned from federal politics in August, citing lasting health effects from a car crash.
Incumbents Who Retained Their Seats
Eighteen councillors successfully defended their positions. They are as follows, listed by ward:
Vincent Crisanti in Ward 1 Etobicoke North, Stephen Holyday in Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre, Amber Morley in Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore, James Pasternak in Ward 6 York Centre, Anthony Perruzza in Ward 7 Humber River-Black Creek, and Mike Colle in Ward 8 Eglinton-Lawrence.
Also returning are Alejandra Bravo in Ward 9 Davenport, Ausma Malik in Ward 10 Spadina-Fort York, Josh Matlow in Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul’s, Rachel Chernos Lin in Ward 15 Don Valley West, Jon Burnside in Ward 16 Don Valley East, and Shelley Carroll in Ward 17 Don Valley North.
Furthermore, Lily Cheng holds Ward 18 Willowdale, Parthi Kandavel retains Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest, Michael Thompson keeps Ward 21 Scarborough Centre, Nick Mantas holds Ward 22 Scarborough-Agincourt, Paul Ainslie returns in Ward 24 Scarborough-Guildwood, and Neethan Shan continues in Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge Park.
A New Council Takes Shape
Together, the election results produce a council that blends experienced returning members with several new voices. The arrival of figures such as Erskine-Smith, Layton and Chen brings a mix of federal and local political backgrounds to the chamber. Mayor Chow will now work with this newly configured council as she begins her first full term leading Canada’s largest city.
