Registration for Toronto’s 2026 civic election has wrapped up with surprise entries, a snap exit — and an 11th hour switcheroo.
As the clock ticked down Friday afternoon toward the deadline for candidates to declare their intentions, University-Rosedale Coun. Dianne Saxe sauntered into City Hall’s registration area with five minutes to spare and changed wards.
Instead of clashing with returning progressive Mike Layton in University-Rosedale, Saxe will now seek the council seat in the neighbouring ward of Toronto-Danforth in this October’s municipal vote.
Saxe said she’s “long admired” Toronto-Danforth for its “strong neighbourhoods, vibrant main streets, diversity and deep sense of community.”
“The challenge is to ensure that as the ward grows, the things that make it special are strengthened, not lost,” Saxe said. “I want to work with residents to make housing more affordable, improve transit and road safety, support local businesses, protect parks and green space, and ensure that infrastructure and community services keep pace with growth.”
Her move concluded a week of frenzied activity that was set in motion Monday, when Layton, a former city councillor, decided to try to reclaim his old ward in University-Rosedale.
That decision, followed by a surprise retirement announcement from longtime councillor Paula Fletcher, set off a cascade of moves in downtown wards.
Layton’s candidacy sparks election drama
Layton, who’s Mayor Olivia Chow’s stepson and the son of the late NDP leader Jack Layton, entered the race for University-Rosedale with an endorsement from local MPP Jessica Bell. Dana Fisher, another candidate, withdrew her campaign to back Layton. His supporters pointed to internal polling that showed Layton, a two-time councillor, could beat Saxe by a wide margin.
Saxe and Layton are both environmentalists and progressives with similar stated priorities, including building affordable housing, fighting climate change and building reliable transit.
“I’ve been fighting for a livable city, well, my whole time here, and we’ve got a better chance of a livable city with two environmental champions on council, not just one,” Saxe told reporters, shortly after the Star broke the news of her jump Friday.
Saxe is a former environmental commissioner of Ontario first elected to council in 2022.
“I am very proud of the things I’ve been able to achieve for University-Rosedale (and) that will continue to bear fruit for many years.”
Saxe isn’t the only one eyeing the Toronto-Danforth seat, however.
Almost immediately after Fletcher’s unexpected exit Wednesday, Toronto-Danforth school trustee Sara Ehrhardt decided to jump into the race for the council seat, telling the Star she hopes to succeed Fletcher, her mentor.
Meanwhile, former city councillor Mary Fragedakis, who was beaten by Fletcher in Toronto-Danforth in the 2018 election, is running again as well, amid an ongoing lawsuit she filed against the ward’s largest BIA.
And Caryma Sa’d, a controversial lawyer who also documents Toronto protests on social media, also registered Friday for her home ward Toronto-Danforth.
University-Rosedale race consolidates
Layton’s entry into the race in University-Rosedale, meanwhile, had other knock-on effects. Candidate Gabe Blanc, among the early birds who have been door-knocking since registrations opened, dropped out of the race and endorsed Layton.
“Mike and I have had a lot of conversations over the past couple of weeks about what our shared priorities are,” Blanc told reporters, noting his campaign was about putting a spotlight on conversations about issues involving streetcars, affordable homes and public parks.
“I think the best way to continue having those conversations is to have them in collaboration with Mike.”
That leaves Diana Yoon, who ran in 2022 but ended her campaign early to support another candidate, as the highest-profile remaining challenger to Layton.
“I have not given up,” Yoon said. “Our goal is to represent a new, fresh voice and I’ll keep working hard … to earn the votes.”
As of Friday, seven other candidates were registered in University-Rosedale and 10 others are running in Toronto-Danforth.
Municipal battlegrounds take shape
Elsewhere this week, former Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith entered the local race in Beaches-East York, where he was the federal representative for more than a decade. It was a decision that was immediately lambasted by early-bird candidate and former CTV reporter Natalie Johnson.
That ward is an open race, as the incumbent councillor, Brad Bradford, is now running to be mayor. The ward has 18 other candidates.
Another open seat has been created in Parkdale-High Park, as longtime councillor Gord Perks, chair of the planning and housing committee, is not seeking re-election after two decades in office.
So far, the race for mayor is shaping up to be between three high-profile contenders: incumbent Chow, Bradford and former federal Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander.
According to a poll by Liaison Strategies released Thursday, Chow would be re-elected mayor if the election was held now. Among decided and leaning voters, the poll found 49 per cent would cast their ballot for Chow, 38 per cent for Bradford and 11 per cent for Alexander.
Mayoral debates are scheduled for the evenings of Sept. 8, 14 and 22.
Meanwhile, every other incumbent councillor is running again — with some high-profile battlegrounds and rematches expected to take shape.
As of Friday, in total, there were 53 candidates running for the mayor’s seat and 190 running for 25 councillor seats. In 2022, 31 people ran for mayor and 163 ran as councillor candidates.
