Is Toronto in serious decline? The city’s mayor, Olivia Chow, doesn’t seem to think so and it’s got a lot of residents scratching their heads.
A video posted to TikTok last week, which has garnered nearly a quarter of a million views as of publication, shows a reporter asking the mayor if she thinks the city is going downhill.
“Let me tell you what I did this weekend,” Chow began, before going down a laundry list of all the activities she took part in, including cultural festivals and checking out the massive rubber duck at harbourfront.
“People are having a great time, they are shopping and eating and enjoying each other’s company. It didn’t look to me or feel like a city in decline at all,” she added.
She goes on to say that the city is diverse, vibrant and celebratory in nature.
“Now, having said that, Can it be safer? Absolutely. Can it be more affordable? Yes. But those are the things we can work on. I reject the notion that the city is in decline.”
Chow also said the city needs help from all levels of government as well as citizens “chipping in” in any ways they can.
However, her words did not sit well with some residents who claim she not only deflected the important question, but that her comments were out of touch.
“Apparently, if Olivia Chow has a good weekend, everything is fine,” one user wrote.
“I feel like her response is extremely out of touch, not what I was expecting from her,” another said.
“Reporter asks a very serious question and the mayor is like “ok, so I went to a couple of parties this weekend….” sorry what?,” someone else added.
These comments come as Toronto faces record-setting inflation rates and is in the middle of a housing crisis, coupled with daily occurrences of violence playing out on the streets.
