Third-party advocacy groups look to get their candidates elected in Toronto mayoral election

The mayoral election in Toronto is more than a month away and while the candidates focus on their platforms, not-for-profit advocacy groups are working behind the scenes to get their candidates elected.

One such group is Progress Toronto, which has seen considerable success and is known for being very pointed in its messaging.

The group first helped to elect councillors in the 2022 municipal election and then successfully campaigned for Olivia Chow in the 2023 mayoral byelection after John Tory stepped down.

“During elections we get involved to elect progressives and then also to defeat conservatives,” Saman Tabasinejad, executive director at Progress Toronto.

New to the scene is A Better City (ABC) Toronto, which has aligned with mayoral candidate Brad Bradford.

“Better City Toronto was a group created in the aftermath of the byelection when Olivia Chow was elected to bring moderates together, conservatives and liberals and those who don’t necessarily align with Toronto’s left-of-centre socialist approach,” said Jeffrey Kroeker, a board member with ABC Toronto.

The group has launched its own attacks against Chow and has harsh words for mayoral candidate Chris Alexander, a former federal immigration minister.

“A vote for Chris Alexander is a vote for Olivia Chow. All I will say is this: I think we’re being pranked and that this is a joke campaign,” Kroeker said.

In response, Alexander said “They don’t think they can win if they have that competition. And that quote basically comes from that camp. It’s been there from the beginning. They tried to keep us out of the campaign. They succeeded in keeping a lot of other highly qualified people out of this campaign.”

For those closely watching this race, the already negative tone is a sign of what is to come in the final six weeks of campaigning.

“I would assume it’s going to get nastier as we get closer and closer to election day on all sides, especially when you look at the third party groups and what they’re going to be able to roll out. So I think we should all be expecting a lot of attacks,” David Valentin from Liaison Strategies said.

When Olivia Chow kicks off her re-election bid on Wednesday night, she is expected to focus on two things. One: her progressive achievements with things like free lunches for school kids and extended library hours; and second: her promise to keep property tax increases near the rate of inflation.

All 444 municipalities in Ontario will each hold elections on Oct. 26 for mayor, councillor and school board trustee positions.