Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie says she is hoping that council will confirm a June 26 byelection date announced by the city clerk yesterday for a Toronto-wide vote to find a new mayor.

John Tory stepped down from the post one week ago, but council has not yet formally declared his seat to be vacant.

While council typically has to do so before a byelection date can be set, City Clerk John D. Elvidge announced a June date for the vote on Thursday.

Speaking with reporters at an event to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Friday, McKelvie acknowledged that the move by the clerk was “unusual.”

However she said that it helps provide some reassurance to residents that the process for choosing a new mayor is underway.

“It is unusual to have those dates out there because they have not been confirmed by council,” McKelvie said. “But to give some certainty to potential candidates, the clerk felt that that was important. I think it's also important that it reassures Toronto residents that we are working on this.”

The next scheduled meeting of city council is not until March 29 and a number of councillors have indicated that they are not in favour of having a special meeting earlier than that in order to expedite the byelection process because city staff need time to plan what is expected to be the largest byelection ever held in Canada.

The byelection to choose a new mayor is expected to cost around $13 million, almost as much as the general municipal election held by the city just a few months ago in October, which cost $14.5 million.

The city has said that “from an administrative point of view, a by-election for Mayor of Toronto requires the same efforts as a general election.”

While Elvidge has announced a byelection date and nomination period before council has had a chance to weigh in, McKelvie said she is hopeful that councillors will approve the dates he has set out when they meet at the end of March.

“So while the date is out there right now, it does need to be approved by council on March 29 and I'm hoping that all of council will come together to do that,” she said.

While the campaign period will be shorter than normal, McKelvie said that she thinks “the residents of Toronto will be watching very closely, and I have full confidence in their ability to select the right person for this job.”

The nomination period is not expected to open until April 3, but a number of potential candidates have already said that they will run, and several others have said that they are exploring bids for a possible run.

If council approves the dates set out by the clerk, candidates will have until 2 p.m. on May 12 to register to run.