Why is it so hard for a conservative to be elected mayor in Canada?
Commentary
Olivia Chow was chosen Mayor of Toronto in the June 26 by election. The former NDP MP/Municipal Councilor obtained 269,372 votes (37.16 percent), beating former city councilor Ana Baião (235,175 votes, 32.46 percent). The two conservative candidates, former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders (62,167 votes, 8.59 percent) and former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey (35,899 votes, 4.96 percent), finished third and fourth respectively.
Therein lies an interesting political puzzle. Why is it so hard for a conservative to run for mayor in Canada?
Toronto is a liberal and progressive city. Therefore, candidates running on a centre-to-centre-left platform have a much higher chance of electoral success. This is especially true after Toronto became a federated municipality in 1953 mayors—Allan Lamport (Liberal), Philip Givens (Liberal), John Sewell (Independent/Socialist), Art Eggleton (Liberal), June Rowlands (Liberal), Barbara Hall (Independent, former NDP), David Miller (Independent, former NDP) and Chow fits into this ideological mindset.
Hold on. That means there have been conservative mayors in Toronto during this period. Where else would the other individuals who held this office – Leslie Howard Saunders, Nathan Phillips, Donald Dean Summerville, William Dennison, David Crombie, Fred Beavis (interim), Mel Lastman, Rob Ford and John Tory – fit?
Which brings us to a tricky part of the equation.
Only certain types of conservatives have been elected mayor of Toronto. From the list above, most would be considered Red Tories or left-wing conservatives. Their mild to moderate fiscal conservatism combined with social centrism/liberalism has attracted Toronto’s conservatives, liberals and a few new democrats and others.
The only exception was Ford. The late mayor ran on a platform that combined conservative-leaning principles (tax prudence, lower taxes) with centrist/populist philosophies (fighting for the little man, stopping the justice train). His guiding philosophy,Ford nationalso includes his brother, Ontario PC Premier Doug Ford. It has a conservative tinge but deviates from the main ideological thrust to attract liberal and NDP supporters.
This helps explain why Tory endorsed Bailao late in the campaign instead of Saunders or Furey. She had gone up and down in the polls, occasionally trailing both right-wing candidates. Yet, as one self-described “pragmatic centershe essentially fell into the same ideological category as the former mayor — and he clearly favored her leadership approach. The Prime Minister, on the other hand endorsed Saunders (who ran as a PC candidate for Ontario in 2022), while another conservative mayoral candidate, Rob Davis, endorsed Fury. They chose candidates closer to their own political ideologies, which differ markedly from Tory’s.
Hence the suggestions Chow had finished 13 years of strict conservative rule are incorrect. Unless you believe that all conservatives are the same – which is also wrong!
This situation is not unique to Toronto.
Many of Calgary’s mayors were liberal or left-leaning. This includes the current mayor, Jyoti Gondek, as well as Naheed Nenshi, Dave Bracconnier, Al Duerr and, believe it or not, Ralph Klein. Montreal, which has a party system in municipal politics, has had mostly center/center left mayors for decades since the demise of the right-wing Citizens’ Party. Vancouver also has a municipal party system, and most mayors have been centre-left, with notable exceptions such as Sam Sullivan and current office holder Ken Sim. Major cities such as Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Halifax have also witnessed a similar historical pattern.
Are there exceptions to the rule? Yes.
Former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown is mayor of Brampton, Ont. Former Conservative MP Joe Preston is mayor of St. Thomas, Ont. Former Conservative MP Alex Nuttall is mayor of Barrie, Ont. Meanwhile, Malcolm Brodie (Richmond, BC), Danny Breen (St. John’s, NL), and Mat Siscoe (St. Catharines, Ont.) have either been associated with conservative ideas, parties, or are running as candidates.
These mayors’ conservative views are moderate or tempered to appeal to a wider voting audience. While there is of course nothing wrong with the latter strategy, it ultimately dilutes the political message to the core.
On the other hand, when dealing with municipal issues such as road and pothole repair, parks and recreation, zoning, property taxes, and affordable housing, any form of real or perceived ideological rigidity is your own worst enemy. Residents want their communities to be safe, secure, clean, affordable, transparent and environmentally friendly. Anything else would be seen as political noise or the domain of federal and provincial politics.
Liberals, New Democrats and other progressives are more focused on this kind of political process – and have had more success in Canadian mayoral elections. Red Tories and extremely independent-minded conservatives have achieved a measure of success.
As for true conservatives, they often look in from the outside.
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
