There are currently Ninety people in the Toronto Mayor’s race, and several are Black politicians, including Ontario Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, policy analyst Chloe Brown, former city councilor Rob Davis, former Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes and lawyers Rocco Achampong and Knia Singh. One of them could be Toronto’s First Black Mayor.
In this awkward election cycle, we get to see a host of Black people run for mayor, but that group is so diverse in terms of political outlook and policy prescription—from firebrands like Chloe and Mitzie to well-known politicians like Celina and Rob. And so far, Mark Saunders is leading the pack with 11% of votes according to the latest polls.
This still puts him behind Ana Bilbao and Olivia Chow. Next is Mitzie Hunter with 5%. While it looks like none of them have a real chance, a third of Torontonians are still undecided, so this is anyone’s race and Toronto could see its first Black mayor. While this would be a historic milestone, I have never been the type to simply aim for Black faces in high places. What is important is that candidates support policies that improve the Black community.
It was surprisingly hard to reach certain candidates. Many did not have a website or email I could easily access, and most didn’t reply at all. One of the first to respond to my interview request was Celina Caessar-Chavannes, a former Liberal MP, author, and consultant around DEI, mental health, and business. I also spoke with Chloe Brown, the third-place candidate in the last mayoral race and a policy analyst with the city. While both women focus on helping everyday folks live and thrive in the city, they have two almost opposing ways of doing it. Celina is a politician who has the knowledge and strategy to work with the political machine, while Chloe is a technocrat who plans to change the system altogether. It is not for me to decide which way is better, but let’s hopefully open up the debate amongst the Black community on the best way forward.
