Olivia Chow is meeting with senior staff and councillors at Toronto City Hall on her first day as mayor-elect, promising to work collaboratively to carry out her campaign promises on affordability and housing and to get up to speed quickly to tackle the massive shortfall looming over the city’s finances.
Chow was elected mayor Monday night in a dramatic Election Night finish which saw Ana Bailao hot on her heels, but unable to catch up.
“I absolutely am looking forward to the opportunity to meet with different councillors and to meet with all the top staff. I want to start early because there's a lot that needs to be done,” Chow told reporters as she entered city hall for meetings Tuesday afternoon.
She pointed out that a mayor-elect would normally have five or six weeks to settle in before being officially sworn in. But Chow has asked to be sworn in just over two weeks from now on July 12 and is holding meetings straight away to get up to speed.
“I'm here to learn from the department heads and to find out from them from their perspective; What are their goals? What kind of targets they’re setting for the city? What would they like to accomplish in the short term and long term and what their expectation is, the kind of leadership they want from the mayor's office,” Chow said. “So I want to listen first. And then also listen to the councillors.”
She added “my priority has been very clear” and said her campaign was about making life more affordable, making city hall more caring, and making the city safer.
Chow said she also wants to “open city hall” to businesses, labour groups, non-profits and former candidates to contribute their feedback and ideas.
“So one of my first tasks is to listen and to learn, and then look for ways we could work together to achieve our common goals,” Chow said.
While she ran on a campaign to make life more affordable, she also acknowledged the massive budgetary shortfall still facing the city as a result of COVID-19-related losses.
“The budget deficit that is in front of city council is very serious,” Chow said, pointing out that it persists even after former mayor John Tory implemented a seven per cent property tax increase this year.
“I will have to talk to the senior staff, talk to other councillors, and see if we could persuade the federal and provincial government to partner with us,” Chow said. “Because at the end of the day, a healthy and livable City of Toronto means a strong Canada and a strong Ontario. So we'll figure that piece out.”
Speaking with CP24 Tuesday, three of Chow’s campaign rivals who will now be her council colleagues also touched on the looming financial challenges the city faces.
“The number one priority for a new mayor will have to be dealing with the budget,” Coun. Josh Matlow said. “Mayor-elect Chow has been saddled with a $1.5 billion shortfall and the last mayor raided the reserves. So Mayor-elect Chow, along with council, will have to figure out how to better manage the budget.”
Coun. Anthony Perruzza also said Chow faces “a very difficult situation at city hall,” having promised to help those who are struggling in a city which doesn’t have any extra money to spend, while Coun. Brad Bradford said “we have some big financial challenges on the horizon here at City Hall.”
All three said they will work collaboratively with Chow, even if they don’t always agree on policy.
For her part, Chow reiterated that she would not use the new strong mayor powers to impose her will on council.
Chow also said she “can absolutely work with Premier Doug Ford” and find common ground where both levels of government can help the city, particularly around housing. During the campaign Ford said Chow would be an “unmitigated disaster” if elected, but quickly struck a conciliatory tone in a statement Monday night in which he said the two would work to find common ground.
Chow was also asked about the contentious issue of the Gardiner Expressway. She’s said she would save the city hundreds of millions of dollars by building a boulevard instead of rebuilding the elevated eastern portion.
She reiterated her message Tuesday that the city would save money that could better be put toward improving transit and housing, but said the rebuild isn’t set to start until 2026, so there is time to figure it out at council.
Earlier in the day, Chow told CP24 in a sit-down interview that her “heart is full” fresh off a win which saw her elected as the first visible minority mayor of Toronto and the first woman to lead the city since amalgamation.
During the scrum, Chow also took a question in Cantonese and was asked to reflect on the fact that the top three candidates in the results Monday night were immigrants.
“It's important to reflect who we're representing,” she said. “It's also saying to every Torontonian it doesn't matter where you came from, what is your skin color, faith – it doesn’t matter who you are. If you have the passion and ideas to contribute to the city, please, the door’s open. Come – you have that power to do so.”
