Former MP and Toronto city councilor Olivia Chow has launched her campaign to replace disgraced John Tory as Toronto mayor.
Chow, who served as the NDP MP for Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014, is the widow of Jack Layton, the former federal leader of the New Democratic Party.
The by-election is slated for June 26, with the winner set to serve as mayor for the remainder of the 2022–2026 city council term. It’s expected to cost Toronto taxpayers about $13 million to run the by-election.
At least 101 candidates have filed paperwork to run, but only half a dozen of them, Chow included, are running competitive campaigns.
In an interview with rabble.ca, Chow talked about the lessons she will carry from Layton as she sets out to create history of her own.
For Chow, it’s simple: Toronto is not doing as well as it could be.
After all, she says, almost every part of daily life leaves residents feeling “stuck.”
“We are stuck waiting for buses, stuck in traffic, stuck waiting for good, affordable housing,” Chow said. “I think it’s at a point that we really need to take action.”
Overcoming adversity
It is not just her expansive political background that sets Chow apart from her more than 100 competitors for mayor. As an immigrant, Chow can bring her lived experiences to the table to help harness meaningful change in Toronto.
The politician’s successful career began with retail and serving jobs. She also spent time as a seamstress and a sculptor with her own studio. In her free time, Chow also volunteered at a Toronto hospital as a crisis intervention worker.
At 13, Chow immigrated to Toronto with her family, where she grew up in St. James Town.
Her father suffered from mental health issues and could not work. Her mother, a teacher, could not find any positions in schools and was forced to work as a maid in a hotel.
The job insecurity caused friction between the couple, culminating in her dad having a nervous breakdown and being violent against her mom.
Even through all the hardships of becoming a single parent, Chow’s mother was still able to pay the bills and have some money left over on her lone income. The family never needed to go to a food bank.
But if Chow had been born today, surviving on a single parent’s income would be next to impossible.
In 2023, Chow’s mother would have been forced to take on a second job and would likely be paying more than 50 per cent of her income on rent in Toronto.
Chow’s City Homes Plan
How did the housing affordability situation become so dire? Chow blames the city council for failing to build an adequate number of affordable housing units.
“We’re in a crisis situation,” she said. “200 people plus each night are being turned away from shelters.”
Not only is Chow calling for more shelters, she has also introduced a campaign policy that would help more people get from shelter spaces to a home of their own.
Her City Homes Plan would see the city build 25,000 new rental homes to benefit roughly 50,000 people.
LISTEN: Olivia Chow wants to create a ‘caring’ Toronto
As part of the plan, the city would develop the rent-controlled homes over eight years, with at least 7,500 affordable units and 2,500 rent-geared-to-income units on land already owned by the city.
But her housing plan does not stop at building — Chow also wants to help lower the number of evictions in Toronto by implementing financial and social support programs to bridge the city’s affordability gap.
Under the City Homes Plan, Chow plans to hold landlords accountable by forcing them to maintain minimum standards. If the landlord neglects a rental unit, city staff will fix it and send them the bill by adding it to their annual property tax.
Chow believes the creation of a Toronto Tenants’ Association would also ensure that tenants are not being exploited in unsafe, substandard housing by providing financial and legal help to take landlords to court.
“One tenant can’t do it,” Chow said, “but if everybody that belongs in the building comes together, they’re much stronger.”
Under Chow’s leadership, the city would work with tenants to create land trusts and co-operative housing opportunities by fixing up the property, buying it and turning ownership over to tenants.
“Then it goes from private hands to public hands,” she said. “And therefore, the tenants will have a secure long-term home, not having to worry that it’s going to be sold out from under them.”
Chow’s housing program would provide 10 times the current amount, raising the funding from $10 million to $100 million annually.
“We’re just giving back the voices to tenants,” she said.
On top of that, Chow wants to form a Secure Renters’ Committee at city hall to regularly review practices and policies that impact tenants across Toronto.
‘Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done’
Chow’s life changed forever in 1985 when she found love at first sight with the auctioneer of a hospital fundraiser. That auctioneer was Jack Layton. The rest is history.
The two exchanged vows three years later, going on to spend nearly 25 years as a married couple.
When Layton died in 2011 from prostate cancer, Chow’s life was, once again, forever changed.
But even after a decade, Chow still walks in tandem with Layton’s spirit in everything she does. Her bid for mayor is no different.
Speaking of the loving, hopeful and optimistic spirit that made Layton a natural leader, Chow noted her late husband taught her something important: “Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.”
Talking to Chow, the main difference between this campaign and prior bids for public office is clear: her confidence.
When she ran in 2014, she said her English was not good enough, which meant a lot of her campaign was spent reading speeches written by others.
But this time, she’s embracing her ability to speak a second language, something that takes courage in any career.
“My English is not perfect, but you understand what I’m talking about,” Chow said. “I’m not going to worry about it… That’s the main difference.”
When asked what she would do differently than Tory, Chow noted she would not negotiate with Premier Doug Ford behind closed doors the way the former mayor made a habit of.
But that does not mean Chow will not hold Ford’s feet to the fire to improve the lives of Torontonians.
“I believe that we could take care of each other better,” she said.
Part of that taking care component is in the need to set targets. Without those, Chow says, governments are reduced to an endless cycle of research and reports.
“I can’t stand that,” she added. “Life’s too short.”
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