Toronto, September 30, 2014 – Political change is coming to many of Ontario’s big cities. The mayors of Hamilton, London, Toronto, and Windsor aren’t seeking re-election. It is the end of an era in Mississauga, as matriarch Mayor Hazel McCallion is retiring after 36 years in office. There will be plenty of political intrigue in the run up to Ontario’s October 27 municipal elections.
More important for residents, however, are a number of critical issues on the agenda – from financial management, transit investment and renewing the local economy, to rebuilding trust in city governments that have been hit by scandal.
The third in the IMFG Pre-Election Perspectives series, the paper profiles election campaigns in six of Ontario’s biggest cities – Hamilton, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Toronto, and Windsor. Stripping away the electioneering, we focus on the unique economic, demographic, and fiscal conditions in each city, and the major challenges candidates should be talking about and voters should be considering as they head to the ballot box. For each of the six cities, a local expert has been recruited to take on this task.
“Ontarians should be especially attuned to their local politics in 2014,” says the paper’s editor, Zac Spicer.
About the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance (IMFG)
The IMFG is an academic research hub and think tank that focusses on the fiscal and governance challenges facing large cities and city-regions. It is located at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. Visit us online
