Olivia Chow will officially assume office as mayor of Toronto on Wednesday, but what should Torontonians expect once she formally accepts her new role?
Since her by-election victory on June 26, Chow has been sitting in waiting as mayor-elect, meaning she has been informally acknowledged as the incoming head of city council. However, she has not been officially sworn in by the city clerk, whose job is to affirm the by-election results and oversee the newly elected mayor’s declaration of office.
READ MORE: Olivia Chow wins Toronto mayoral by-election
Chow will make the declaration at 11 a.m on Wednesday, ratifying her authority as mayor and ceremoniously inheriting her duties.
Chow will take over mayoral responsibilities from Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, who has been the acting mayor since John Tory resigned in February, after admitting to an affair with a former office employee.
What is the role of the mayor?
The mayor presides over council’s 44 members, and indirectly, numerous city-funded bodies, including the Toronto Police Service, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), and the Toronto Public Library.
As mayor, Chow will inherit a long list of responsibilities, which include chairing meetings of the council, representing the city at official functions, and carrying out all other duties listed under the City of Toronto Act, 2006, among other acts.
The mayor also presides as chief executive officer to the city council. In this role they must “uphold and promote the purposes of the City, promote public involvement in the City’s activities, act as the representative of the City both within and outside the City, and promote the City locally, nationally and internationally.” Moreover, the mayor is responsible for their jurisdiction’s environmental upkeep and the social wellbeing of Toronto residents. Additionally, the mayor wields powers to declare municipal emergencies, to appoint and expel city employees, sign bylaws, and to sit as a member on all city committees.
A comprehensive list of mayoral responsibilities can be found here.
What will Chow do once she takes office?
Chow told reporters shortly after her victory that she was keen to be sworn in sooner rather than later.
“I need to get to work now. So, I said two weeks, two weeks. Let me get sworn in in two weeks.” Typically, the time between an election result and the Declaration of Office is over a month,” Chow told CP24.
READ MORE: 8 things you probably didn’t know about Olivia Chow – Toronto’s next mayor
Since June 26, Chow has moved swiftly to assemble a trusted leadership team, announcing her Chief of Staff as Michal Hay, the woman who helmed Chow’s winning election campaign.
Chow plans to secure support from both the provincial and federal governments for her proposal to introduce a Municipal Land Transfer Tax on luxury homes. The novel luxury homes tax will affect two per cent of house sales annually, and the revenue will be funnelled into mitigating the homelessness crisis, Chow’s official website says.
In a concerted effort to alleviate stress on the city’s public services, Chow intends to secure further funding for Toronto’s public transportation services and roads.
Chow won the by-election with 269,372 votes, while former city councillor Ana Bailão came second garnering 235,175 votes, according to official figures.
