Toronto municipal election, 2003
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The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.
David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election).
Most municipalities in the Province of Ontario held elections on this date. See also Ontario municipal elections, 2003.
Mayoral election
Incumbent Toronto mayor Mel Lastman chose not to run for re-election. A large number of candidates ran for the position of mayor, but four main candidates emerged.
- Barbara Hall is the former mayor of Toronto who had the support of many of the city's Liberals. She campaigned on a moderate policy of outreach to minorities.
- John Nunziata, a former Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party of Canada, was expelled from the party because of his opposition to his party's continuation of the GST, something that the party had promised to abolish as part of its election platform. He ran a right-wing campaign for mayor of Toronto, advocating stiff penalties against the homeless and a strong focus on law and order.
- John Tory, a noted businessman and supporter of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Tory ran a centre-right campaign promising to hire more police, fine panhandlers, and incinerate Toronto's garbage. He also promised rigorous fiscal discipline at city hall. He later became leader of the Ontario PC Party.
- David Miller, the most left wing of the major candidates, is closely associated with unions and the New Democratic Party. He had long served as a city councillor. His main cause was halting the expansion of the Toronto Islands Airport.
The campaign began with Barbara Hall far in the lead. She had wide name recognition and attracted moderate support from across Toronto. She also had close links with the newly elected Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty. John Tory and David Miller were closely tied for a distant second, while John Nunziata was in last place, among the major candidates.
Hall quickly began to hemorrhage support, however. Miller's message about the island airport resonated with many voters and he vaulted into first place, to the surprise of many. Tory's support also began to grow steadily as Hall's eroded. The race had become essentially two way contest between Tory and Miller. Miller was attacked by all candidates for musing about tolls on roads leading into Toronto, but this did not seem to reduce his support.
John Nunziata, long not considered a plausible contender, dropped a bombshell on the media when it he announced that members of Tory's camp offered him $150,000 and the Deputy Mayor's position if he were to drop out of the race. Nunziata refused to release specifics, however, and a police investigation found no wrongdoing. Tory in fact received a boost in the polls for his promise to drop out of the campaign if any wrong-doing had been discovered.
Tom Jakobek gathered much media attention at the start, and was invited to various debates, but was quickly distanced from the front-runner race when the vote neared. Jakobek's campaign was hampered by his connection to recent municipal mismanagement, and admissions that he had lied about accepting gifts from people pursuing business with the city.
City council
Most incumbent city councillors were re-elected. A prominent exception was Anne Johnston, the longest-serving member of city council. She lost her seat in Ward 16, apparently because of her approval of a controversial residential tower development in an adjoining ward. The council elections saw one of the highest rates of turnover in recent history. While only four incumbents lost their seats, many long standing councillors decided not to run for re-election. Of the 44 city councillors, 14 are newcomers. The election saw the council become more leftist, which should aid mayor Miller.
| Preceded by: Toronto municipal election, 2000 | List of Toronto municipal elections | Followed by: Toronto municipal election, 2006 |
