News

The new mayor and city council have been on the job for just over a year — time for a summer report card!

We’ve examined the voting records of the mayor and each sitting city councillor and graded their performance. We’ve highlighted key votes below: naming a stadium after the late, disgraced mayor Rob Ford, increasing the police budget, and a motion to investigate saving the Science Centre from Premier Ford’s disastrous plans to demolish it. However, we also factored in other votes, such as permitting alcohol in city parks, building more affordable housing, cycling infrastructure and more.

Read below to find out if your local councillor is due for detention!

Who: Olivia Chow
Grade: A

Where: Mayor of Toronto

When: First elected 2023

Why: Even the right has to be impressed by Chow’s ability to get things done, a significant upgrade in achievement after the all-talk-little-action reign of tax-phobic John Tory. Chow has wrung out deals with the feds, the province and even Rogers — subway cell connectivity — that her predecessor failed to do. Her deal-making has occasionally seen her on the strange side of some issues. Her backing down on her budget battle with the cops seemed like a failure, but it might have just been a judicious retreat; she didn’t have the council votes to win the fight. And she handed off the battle to save Ontario Place to Councillor Ausma Malik to get a provincial deal on highway funding. That was another expedient deal since the province can just expropriate city land on the site, which it did recently. Her backing to name Etobicoke Stadium after disgraced mayor Rob Ford seems like grimy dealmaking, and steamrolling the new name for Yonge-Dundas Square showed a disappointing lack of community consultation. Perfect? Of course not, but Chow is the best mayor this city has had in decades.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: She’s the most consultatve mayor ever but a few misteps to dealmaking or speed came at the cost of community credibility. Will have to be on constant guard as she balances dealmaking with ideals.

Who: Vincent Crisanti
Grade: D+

Where: Ward 1, Etobicoke North

When: First elected 2010

Why: If there are two things he hates, it’s taxes and people having fun. He’s been one of the strongest opponents of the vacant home tax and alcohol in parks. He also tried to justify support for more surface parking lots as being important for “tourism” — because what else draws a crowd like barren asphalt? Still, there are glimmers of hope in his voting record. He supported declaring homelessness an emergency in the city — even though he voted against doing anything about it previously.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: He needs to spend less time whining about taxes in the Toronto Sun and more time considering what actually makes a city a desirable place to live. (Here’s a hint: It’s not gutting city services so your wealthy, multiple-home-owning constituents can get even more tax breaks to buy up even more real estate.)

Who: Stephen Holyday
Grade: F

Where: Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre

When: First elected 2014

Why: Despite apparently being proud of his status as council’s ultra-conservative naysayer, Holyday isn’t a martyr for a supposed “silent majority” opposed to the mayor — he’s just a contrarian who votes against taking any measures to make this city a more livable, compassionate place. He says “No” by default to any measures on building affordable housing, funding essential city services or anything else he deems as “overreach” (i.e., anything that’s not more money for the police). Maybe he thinks he’s the second coming of Rob Ford? (How pathetic is being a poor imitation of that guy on council?)

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (No)

Needs to improve: Where to start? Chow has shown she’s willing to compromise with almost anybody — even a councillor like Holyday. Yet his colleagues have said there’s no point in trying to work with him on most issues — they already know what his answer will be. (“No.”)

Who: Amber Morley
Grade: B-

Where: Ward 3, Etobicoke—Lakeshore

When: First elected 2022

Why: Despite being one of several progressive, rookie councillors elected in 2022, she didn’t just vote for an increase to the police budget of $12.6 million; she was the one to propose it. Despite following that motion with another to implement important police reforms, having her name on that huge increase to an already overpaid police service has done real damage to her progressive credibility — even if she was only a loyal team player for the mayor, who was, ultimately, the one calling the shots on this reversal.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: She has her work cut out for her to earn back the trust of progressive voters, even though her suburban constituents may not be as bothered by it. Still, she’s shown in other important votes that her values are usually in the right place.

Who: Gord Perks
Grade: B+

Where: Ward 4, Parkdale—High Park

When: First elected 2006

Why: Is longtime progressive Perks tired? With fellow traveller Chow as mayor, this should be his time but it feels like Perks has settled in as a grumpy, “get off my lawn” guy. We hope he finds his mojo and an issue that he can put his heart into and use this progressive council moment to make happen. Perks seemed to relish his role as a long-time, outspoken opponent of successive conservative mayors Rob Ford and John Tory. Now, with progressive Chow in charge, he’s fallen in line as a loyalist to her rule. Does he still have that same fire under him, though, now that he’s on the side of authority and power?

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (No), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Re-light that fire that saw him as a mischievous and effective council troublemaker. Perks came under serious attack in the last election for not being more engaged with his community. Is he wishing he had followed Mike Layton and Joe Cressy out the door and into a cushy public sector job instead, or can he rediscover that spark now that City Hall is under new management?

Who: Frances Nunziata
Grade: D

Where: Ward 5, York South—Weston

When: First elected 2000

Why: A long-time Ford-Tory loyalist, Nunziata shoots from the hip — whether or not it’s backed up with facts. She’s not actually a fan of local democracy, though — dismissing deputations to the budget committee as being biased against the police and, thus, not even worth considering. That attitude’s a big problem when she’s the one running council meetings as the speaker, especially considering she’s been phoning it in for years and struggles to stay calm and in control. Seems to think “Ready to Blow” is the perfect vibe to perma-project, but why is she so pissed? Lifetime civic politician has major chameleon skills but not a lot to show for her very extended time in office.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: It’s time to get out of the speaker’s chair. She impatiently rules over council meetings like an incompetent Judge Judy. Council is chaotic enough without a schoolyard bully failing to maintain order.

Who: James Pasternak
Grade: D

Where: Ward 6, York Centre

When: First elected 2010

Why: This grumpy old-school councillor is micro-focused on his ward with no larger vision of the city. Railed against drinking in parks with a puritanical fear of change that feeds a parochial vision of Toronto reminiscent of the Gardiner-Lamport days.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Mind-bogglingly, he argued spending more on the TTC’s state of repair would take funds away from expanding the system.

Who: Anthony Perruzza
Grade: D+

Where: Ward 7, Humber River—Black Creek

When: First elected 2006

Why: Perruzza initially refused to apologize for making an “obscene gesture” at Paul Ainslie during a session of council back in December. The minutes of that session read: “Councillor Perruzza responded with ‘Yeah. What’s it to you?’” to Ainslie when confronted about it. Disruptive and buffoonish, his car-centric voting record makes it hard to believe he was once an NDP MPP. His antics suggest he prefers being the class clown to being a councillor.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Unless he can learn to play nice, it might be time to retire — leave governing the city to the grown-ups.

Who: Mike Colle
Grade: C+

Where: Ward 8, Eglinton—Lawrence

When: First elected 2018

Why: Like Doug Ford, he’s a conservative who’s willing to play ball with the new, progressive mayor thanks to their history of working together in the old, pre-amalgamation days of Metro Council. He even called the mayor a “charming young lady” in her first council session as mayor. What a (patronizing, misogynistic) gentleman.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Encouragingly, he’s supported building more cycling infrastructure, a real estate speculation tax and has even been vocal about trans rights on council, but, on the whole, he’s still a pro-cop, anti-tax conservative.

Who: Alejandra Bravo
Grade: A+

Where: Ward 9, Davenport

When: First elected 2022

Why: After three failed attempts to get a seat on council in 2003, 2006 and 2014, and then a failed federal campaign in 2021 — which she lost by only 76 votes — she finally has the chance to show us what we’ve been missing out on. A long-time progressive activist, she’s prioritized building parks over parking lots, people over bloated police budgets and keeping Ontario Place public. An exemplary record.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (No), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: The battles to save public gems like Ontario Place and the Science Centre from the premier’s privatization plans need a progressive champion like her to keep up the fight on council.

Who: Ausma Malik
Grade: A+

Where: Ward 10, Spadina—Fort York

When: First elected 2022

Why: The most consistent and articulate progressive voice on council, Malik has represented her downtown ward’s interests well in addition to bringing a city-building perspective to larger concerns. She has led the city’s fight to save Ontario Place, with the mayor sidelined by her Gardiner deal.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (No), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Malik has a lot on her shoulders as one of Chow’s top deputies. She can take a page from the mayor’s playbook and build unexpected alliances to further cement her status as not just another progressive but a real leader on council.

Who: Dianne Saxe
Grade: C+

Where: Ward 11, University—Rosedale

When: First elected 2022

Why: Saxe feels like a suburban councillor dropped into an inner-city ward with her beige approach to city building, having remained pretty ineffectual in helping navigate the complex issues of preserving Kensington Market.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Residents, activists and staff alike have complained, publicly and privately, about her invisibility in the community. She needs to show some interest in her constituents’ concerns when outside of the council chambers.

Who: Chris Moise
Grade: C+

Where: Ward 13, Toronto Centre

When: First elected 2022

Why: Moise was expected to be a stalwart of council’s progressive wing when elected as part of a slate of rookie councillors representing downtown. Instead, he promptly cosied up to John Tory and even endorsed Ana Bailão for mayor. Yet, since Chow won that contest, he’s re-aligned himself with the progressives. It seems Moise prefers to stay close to whoever is in power rather than rock the boat.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Absent), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Moise mostly moves with the mayor — whoever that mayor might be. In his words, he’s not in it to “join a team,” but, if he’s really as independent as he claims, he needs to show he’s not just a follower.

Who: Paula Fletcher
Grade: B+

Where: Ward 14, Toronto—Danforth

When: First elected 2003

Why: One of council’s veteran progressives, Fletcher has smoothly moved from staunch opposition to valuable ally with the change in mayor.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (No), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: If she loses marks for anything, it might be her old-school approach on issues like keeping parking cheap. Even if it’s in the name of helping blue-collar, working-class folks, it’s still subsidizing cars at the expense of funding that could be put towards transit and cycling infrastructure.

Who: Jon Burnside
Grade: C-

Where: Ward 16, Don Valley East

When: First elected 2014

Why: A former cop, Burnside unsurprisingly supports dumping truckloads of cash at police headquarters. To his credit, though, he represents the ward that’s home to the Science Centre, and he opposes the premier’s half-baked scheme to destroy it, recognizing the terrible impact it would have on his community.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Needs to learn that not every problem can be solved with more cops and heavy-handed enforcement.

Who: Shelley Carroll
Grade: B

Where: Ward 17, Don Valley North

When: First elected 2003

Why: The perfect Liberal councillor, Carroll works the left-of-middle skillfully and is able to achieve a lot without pissing off many.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (No)

Needs to improve: Just like a Liberal, Carroll is great at paying lip service to progressive causes — but when push comes to shove, she’s just as likely to side with council’s conservatives on key votes as the progressives.

Who: Lily Cheng
Grade: B-

Where: Ward 18, Willowdale

When: First elected 2022

Why: She’s opposed building modular supportive housing in her ward, flimsily claiming she’s concerned about the safety of nearby seniors, but she’s also been a strong advocate for action to curb anti-Asian racism and intimate partner violence.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: With a housing emergency underway in the city, it’s hard to have any patience for her flimsy, NIMBY concerns about building critcal housing in her ward.

Who: Brad Bradford
Grade: D

Where: Ward 19, Beaches—East York (East end)

When: First elected 2018

Why: This mouthy right winger was crushed in a mayoralty election trying to import U.S.-style aggressive, polarizing campaign against Chow. Bradford keeps re-fighting his losing election, trying to be the motor-mouthing voice of opposition to the mayor and her progressive agenda.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (No), Increased police funding (No), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Needs to learn that a kneejerk opposition to everything Chow proposes is just ludicrous — even Doug Ford finds points of agreement with the mayor.

Who: Parthi Kandavel
Grade: B-

Where: Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest

When: First elected 2023

Why: Considered to be one of several “progressive” candidates vying for the open Scarborough seat in 2023, Kandavel worked hard to give the impression he would be part of the mayor’s inner circle if elected. Since then, though, his NIMBY-minded opposition to building housing and cycling infrastructure doesn’t bode well for whether he can be trusted to deliver.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Kandavel needs to back up his tough election talk on progressive issues, like income inequality, affordable housing and child care, with some equally tough votes now that he’s on council.

Who: Michael Thompson
Grade: D

Where: Ward 21, Scarborough Centre

When: First elected 2003

Why: Thompson is still at large while facing two sexual assault charges making their way through court. He’s an old-school back-slapper who works hard for his ward, is not afraid to hold a grudge and is best not crossed. Has lots of power with budget role. Uncritical fan of the cops.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (No)

Needs to improve: With the criminal charges currently against him, Thompson simply needs to resign. It’s hard to stomach him voting on issues like staff integrity, the police budget, bail reform, etc., with those charges looming in the background.

Who: Nick Mantas
Grade: D

Where: Ward 22, Scarborough—Agincourt

When: First elected 2021

Why: The thing we know him for best, now, is that he’s the councillor who went on a $16,000+ taxpayer-funded trip to Italy — which went so far over budget he needed council to approve a big, fat cheque to bail him out.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Clearly, he needs to work on understanding that overseas fact-finding missions on behalf of the city aren’t all-expenses-paid vacations.

Who: Jamaal Myers
Grade: B+

Where: Ward 23, Scarborough North

When: First elected 2022

Why: The TTC chair did a great job calling out Burnside and Holyday’s bullshit during the budget debate — Burnside for wanting to hike TTC fares despite not ever taking transit himself and Holyday for wanting to slash the system’s budget despite not checking his math with TTC staff.

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Nonetheless, he’s supported measures to crack down on fare evasion. If transit is a public service we pay for with our tax dollars, shouldn’t we put those resources towards making it more affordable — or, even better, free?

Who: Paul Ainslie
Grade: C+

Where: Ward 24, Scarborough—Guildwood

When: First elected 2006

Why: Once an ally of then-mayor Rob Ford, Ainslie fell out with Ford after publicly criticizing him for his humiliating, absurd scandals. Ten years go by, and now, Ainslie has voted in favour of naming a stadium after that same, scandal-riddled mayor. Talk about being council’s “mushy middle.”

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Despite being a Tory loyalist, he’s shown he can get with the program now that City Hall is under new management. Consistency is key, though.

Who: Jennifer McKelvie
Grade: D

Where: Ward 25, Scarborough—Rouge Par k

When: First elected 2018

Why: Another Tory loyalist, McKelvie is against defunding the police and dismantling the Gardiner Expressway. Last year, she voted against a motion by Matlow simply to make eliminating homelessness a goal for the city to strive towards. How heartless is that?

Key votes record: Ford Stadium (Yes), Increased police funding (Yes), Protect Science Centre (Yes)

Needs to improve: Her record on council suggests that she’s more interested in putting highways over heads than roofs.