Pickering councillor Lisa Robinson, who has been repeatedly penalized for misconduct, accused throughout her political career of making racist statements and placed under investigation by the OPP over her ties to far-right figures, has registered to run for mayor of the city.
In an online video announcing her mayoral bid Sunday, Robinson vowed that, if elected, she would return power to “the people” and respect to the taxpayer. She said her colleagues on council had, for years, been trying to “isolate” her, wear her down and make her “disappear.” In her telling, this fractious relationship was caused by disagreements over fiscal policy and government transparency.
“For four years, they tried to silence me for asking the questions you already were asking at home,” she said. “Questions about your taxes, about wasteful spending, about backroom decisions and about why residents keep paying more while they’re getting less.”
Robinson’s pay was docked eight times by council since she was elected in 2022. Reasons for this included lying about how much the city was spending on consultants, accepting money from an online fundraiser set up for her — in contravention of council policy not to accept large financial gifts — and using paid newspaper editorials to ”launch an attack” on Black and LGBTQ interests, according to the Pickering integrity commissioner.
She was also censured last year for appearing on a podcast where, in the words of the integrity commissioner, she seemed “comfortable, at ease and pleased” while the host, Kevin Johnston, a man previously convicted of Islamophobic hate speech, made “disparaging, defamatory, profane and homophobic statements” and encouraged the public to violently attack her colleagues.
Robinson told the Star she wears these formal condemnations as a “badge of honour” that signals her political independence.
“I was elected to serve the people, not to play politics or chase popularity,” she wrote in a statement to the Star Monday. “As mayor, I won’t be looking to win a popularity contest on every vote. Leadership is about having a clear vision and delivering results.”
The Star asked Robinson how she would govern given the animosity toward her from council. Even if she exercised strong-mayor powers — which she said she doesn’t endorse using — she would still need the support of one-third of council to pass her motions.
“If my message of accountability and common sense continues to resonate the way it has all across Pickering, we will have a new council focused on lower taxes, better services, and neighbourhoods built for people, not special interests,” she wrote. “The right way forward is collaborative leadership with a council that listens to what residents actually want.”
Last year, Pickering mayor Kevin Ashe stopped holding in-person council meetings, saying he didn’t feel safe in chambers with Robinson’s supporters there.
An announcement from the city about the move claimed he and members of council had been receiving threats and that an “atmosphere of uncertainty, fear and intimidation” had formed due to Robinson’s “baseless and increasingly erratic claims” about them. They feared this could impel her “more unhinged supporters” to hurt them. Robinson said this was preposterous and accused her colleagues of “corruption” and taking “authoritarian measures.”
Before moving to Pickering and running for council, Robinson was the Conservative candidate in the Beaches-East York riding in the 2021 federal election. The party kicked her out over allegations she authored Islamophobic tweets, including one that read: “Muslims go home if our Canadian heritage offends you so much !!!!” The tweets had long been deleted and she denied writing them. Before politics, she worked in real estate.
The councillor will be facing off against incumbent mayor Ashe, who was unreachable for comment Monday. A spokesperson said he is out of town all week.
