Deadline to register as candidate for Ontario's municipal elections closes Friday afternoon

The nomination period for candidates in municipal elections across Ontario has come to a close as of 2 p.m. Friday, setting a clearer picture of the choices voters will face at the ballot box in the fall.

Elections will be held on Oct. 26, though some early birds — including mayoral hopefuls in Toronto and Mississauga, Ont. — have already begun making their pitches in earnest.

There was a flurry of activity ahead of the deadline Friday, especially in Toronto with the return of former councillor Mary Fragedakis and current University-Rosedale councillor Dianne Saxe registering as candidates for Toronto-Danforth.

Some came down to the wire. In Windsor, Ont., incumbent Mayor Drew Dilkens's name was added to the official list of candidates with less than half an hour left on the clock.

Several high-profile entries have also answered the call to take on the municipal race, including former Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith and recently resigned Liberal MP Shaun Chen.

Some political observers have raised concerns over the number of seats showing only one candidate or none at all as the deadline drew near.

Zachary Spicer, an associate professor of public policy at York University, says a competitive mayoral race can bump up voter turnout in municipal elections, which is generally lower than at the provincial or federal levels.

On the flip side, he says, a mayoral race with a strong incumbent and no significant challengers seems to have a "reverberating effect" on campaigns for council, with fewer people showing up to cast a ballot.

Competition heats up in Toronto-Danforth race

Earlier this week Coun. Paula Fletcher announced her retirement and said she would not be seeking re-election as the representative for Toronto-Danforth.

The ward's ballot went from a handful of candidates to 17 in a matter of days, with several registering after Fletcher's announcement, including former councillor Mary Fragedakis and current University-Rosedale councillor Dianne Saxe.

Fragedakis, who represented Toronto-Danforth from 2010 to 2018, said returning to council is the next step in her career.

She said she's worked on the ground in communities over the past eight years addressing economic development and other issues. That is crucial experience the city sorely needs in its decision-makers, Fragedakis said.

Saxe says she hopes to see two environmental advocates on city council after the election, including herself. While she didn't specify who else she was referring to, former councillor Mike Layton is running for his old seat, and her current one, at University-Rosedale and was a consistent advocate on environmental issues.

Saxe said she's been tuned into issues in the Toronto-Danforth community and has the skills to tackle those challenges through her advocacy and political experience.

"I'm a really good match for their challenges and I have proven my ability to deliver results when others don't on exactly those challenges," she said.

Gabe Blanc, who was originally registered to run in University-Rosedale, withdrew his candidacy Friday and instead endorsed Layton. He said he felt Layton had delivered results in the past on their shared priorities and would be able to continue doing so in the future.

Mayoral election races to watch out for

Spicer said he'll be keeping an eye on Mississauga, which has seen more competition for mayor in recent years after decades as a stronghold for the late Hazel McCallion, as well as Hamilton, where he said the incumbent mayor, former provincial NDP leader Andrea Horwath, is facing "considerable challenges."

The race is also likely to be interesting in Guelph, Ont., as three-term mayor Cam Guthrie leaves the city's top job open to new blood, he said.

In Toronto, where veteran politicians including former federal Conservative minister Chris Alexander and current council member Brad Bradford are seeking to unseat mayor Olivia Chow, a new poll suggests residents want the city to make decisions more quickly and with more openness to new ideas.

An online survey of about 800 adult Torontonians conducted by Ipsos for the Toronto Region Board of Trade found 59 per cent of respondents said the city lacks speed in making decisions, while 57 per cent say it lacks willingness to try new solutions.

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Fifty-five per cent said the city isn't investing enough in infrastructure, according to the poll, which was carried out between July 20 and Aug. 4.

The survey also found respondents listed the cost of living, housing affordability and traffic congestion as their top three economic concerns for the city, with public transit improvements in fourth place.

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.