It’s been less than a week since the news came out that John Tory will be resigning from his duties as mayor following his affair with a member of his office.
Despite his chair not even being cold yet, people are already eyeing the possibility of leading Canada’s largest city.
With Toronto heading into another by-election only four months after the last one, many Torontonians want to know who could potentially fill the important role.
Read more: John Tory resigns as Toronto mayor after admitting to cheating with former staffer
Here are six politicians who have confirmed or could be potentially running for mayor in the next by-election:
Gil Penalosa
One candidate that will not hesitate to run for mayor is Gil Penalosa.
Not long after news came out about Tory stepping down, Penalosa wasted no time in making his plans clear.
“I’ll be running for mayor of Toronto. Together, we can create an affordable, equitable, sustainable city, a Toronto for Everyone,” he tweeted on Saturday.
This isn’t his first rodeo as he came in a distant second in the Oct. 2022 mayoral election with 18 per cent of the votes, compared to Tory’s 61 per cent.
Chloe Brown
Chloe Brown, who came in third in last year’s mayoral run following behind Tory and Penalosa, could be a strong potential candidate.
Brown is a formal mayoral candidate and a policy analyst who was very critical about Tory and has made it clear she can do a better job.
She has called out the city’s problem with over-policing, drug overdoses, homelenesses and violence.
“There is no hope in the [John Tory’s] and [Gil Penalosa’s] of the world,” she said during a mayoral candidate debate last year.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes
One way to see if you’re a good enough candidate to become mayor is ask the public.
That’s exactly what Celina Caesar-Chavannes did and she got plenty of positive feedback and even some excited residents.
“Wakanda question is this? Yesss you absolutely should!” one Twitter user wrote.
As a former member of parliament until 2019, Caesar-Chavannes is no stranger to the world of politics.
She stepped down citing a hostile work environment and even claimed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised his voice at her, which his camp has reportedly denied.
Josh Matlow
Toronto-St. Paul’s Councillor Josh Matlow is a known critic of John Tory and other levels of governments so it wouldn’t be that surprising to see him attempt to gain leadership.
“We cannot let what happened distract our focus from delivering an improved budget this Wednesday. I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure that every Torontonian has a warm place to go, the TTC is truly safe and reliable, we address the roots of health and safety of,” he tweeted on Saturday.
Mike Layton
Former Toronto city councillor Mike Layton running for mayor isn’t a far reach either.
Especially since he has worked at city hall for over a decade and is known locally for his environmental work and activism.
Layton most recently represented Ward 11, Rosedale, and did not run for re-election in 2022.
Michael Ford
Michael Ford is Ontario’s minister of citizenship and multiculturalism and has held that role since last summer.
Before that, he represented York South—Weston in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until 2022.
Many theories have surfaced that Ford might run to benefit his uncle Premier Doug Ford.
