Three familiar faces from Toronto City Hall are poised to make the jump to Queen’s Park.
CTV News has declared that the premier’s nephew and current city councillor Michael Ford has been elected in York South-Weston for the Progressive Conservatives, defeating NDP incumbent Faisal Hassan by less than 1,000 votes.
The network has also declared that longtime downtown city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam will be elected in Toronto Centre, defeating Liberal David Morris by more than 2,000 votes.
Former city councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, meanwhile, has been elected in Beaches-East York for the Liberals, taking a riding that had no incumbent following a decision by NDP Rima Berns-McGown not to seek re-election.
Ford’s win in York South-Weston represents a breakthrough of sorts for the Tories, who have never actually won in the riding.
The Tories did, however, come close in 2018 with their candidate losing to Hassan by just over 1,100 votes.
Wong-Tam’s projected win in Toronto Centre is a little more expected, the riding having been previously represented by NDP Suze Morrison in the last provincial parliament.
Prior to stepping down from council to run for the NDP, Wong-Tam had spent a dozen years at city hall, often serving as a passionate advocate for various harm-reduction initiatives, such as supervised injection sites. She also served as the vice-chair of the Toronto Board of Health for part of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael Ford was first elected to city council in 2016 following the death of his uncle, former mayor Rob Ford.
Prior to that he spent two years as a Toronto District School Board trustee.
McMahon served as a Toronto city councillor from 2010 to 2018.
Ford took a leave of absence to seek election in York South-Weston and will now have to formally resign from city council. Wong-Tam already resigned and on Wednesday council voted to appoint her former chief of staff, Robin Buxton Potts, in her place for the remainder of this term.
