A surprise contender may be about to shake up the race for Toronto mayor.
Former federal immigration minister and Conservative MP Chris Alexander confirmed to the Star on Thursday he’s weighing a run for the city’s top office.
“I am seriously considering it,” he said in an interview on Thursday, explaining that “a number of people … and organizations that I respect” have been encouraging him to launch a campaign.
Alexander stressed that he hadn’t made a decision, but hoped to make up his mind soon. He said he wanted to be certain he would have “a platform, a team (and) funding that would be credible,” and make sure that a campaign was the right thing for his family.
Nominations for the municipal election opened May 1 and close Aug. 21. Voting day is Oct. 26.
So far, 26 people have signed up to run for mayor, with incumbent Olivia Chow and Coun. Brad Bradford (Beaches-East York) the only high-profile contenders.
Alexander was elected MP for Ajax-Pickering in 2011, and served as minister of citizenship and immigration from 2013 to 2015 in then prime minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet. Before entering politics, he worked in the foreign service and was Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan.
He was seen as a rising star in Conservative politics when he first took office, but his time in Parliament ended in controversy.
In the 2015 election he championed the party’s now infamous proposal for a “barbaric cultural practices” hotline. At the time, Alexander suggested the proposal would help protect women and girls from forced marriages, and preserve “our values.”
The tip line, which was floated as the Conservatives pushed measures seen by critics as targeting Muslims such as banning face coverings from citizenship ceremonies, was widely denounced as intolerant.
Alexander later said he believed the proposal cost the Tories the election. He lost his own seat in the race.
He hasn’t previously been active in Toronto politics, but said he grew up in the city, and moved back to Toronto in 2022 after living in Ajax. He worked as an executive at Hakluyt & Company, a strategic advisory firm, from 2022 to 2024, according to his LinkedIn.
Alexander suggested his outsider status could be an asset if he decides to run for mayor. He said “it’s important that we have new people, qualified people from a range of backgrounds in the race.”
Speculation about a potential Alexander mayoral run was fanned this week after Campaign Research ran a public opinion survey listing him as a possible candidate. Campaign Research is a polling firm run by Nick Kouvalis, the longtime adviser to Premier Doug Ford who has also advised former mayor John Tory.
Kouvalis declined to say who commissioned the poll.
Asked about rumours that Tory was among those urging him to consider a bid, Alexander acknowledged that he was “someone I’ve spoken to.”
“I wouldn’t want to go beyond that. And I certainly wouldn’t want to imply that John is endorsing one candidate or another,” he said.
Tory told the Star that Alexander called him “quite a while ago” asking for guidance on a potential mayoral run. The former mayor said he gave Alexander advice, as he has done for other candidates, and while he encourages people interested in running for public office to do so he is “not involved with anyone’s campaign in any way.”
