Scarborough takes centre stage in Toronto mayoral campaign on Thanksgiving

Scarborough was the focal point for Toronto’s mayoral campaign on Thanksgiving, with the main candidates making their stops in the city’s east end.

Mayor Olivia Chow, stopped at an event hosted by the Chinese Cultural Centre, serving meals for seniors. She was technically present at the event in her capacity as mayor but also campaigning for reelection.

“In Scarborough, a lot of people are looking for an alternative, especially, they want to go forward instead of going backwards,” Chow said. “So meeting with tenants and protecting their apartments, all of that is critical and all of that is at risk if we don’t move forward together.”

Meanwhile, Brad Bradford made a stop at a Thanksgiving food drive event in Scarborough. There, he took some time to hand out meals and speak to voters while explaining why he thinks the city’s east end is important.

“For a lot of people, Scarborough is where the dream of Toronto starts,” he said. “Folks arrive here in this country sometimes with just a couple suitcases and the bare possessions that they could carry with them and they find community here in Scarborough.”

Focusing on Scarborough

Both Chow and Bradford have made multiple stops, announcements, and promises in Scarborough.

Many of those pledges are focused on transit with Chow announcing the opening of the Scarborough busway to replace the defunct RT rail line. At the same time, Bradford is promising to remove some of the red bus lanes through portions of Scarborough.

Throughout the campaign so far, Scarborough resident groups have been watching what the candidates are promising for the region.

“I’m hearing the right thing. The thing is, are we going to see the right thing?” President of the Agincourt Village Community Association, Rhoda Potter said to CityNews.

“We are a third of the geographical area, a third of the population, and we’ve been promised so many things for so many years,” she said.

Beyond focusing on the issues that matter to Scarborough residents, getting out the vote will be critical for the campaigns as well. Reports of previous election turnouts show wards in the east end of the city tend to have the lowest turnout than anywhere else.

Chow and Bradford went head-to-head in a Scarborough focused debate hosted by CityNews last week, touching on all the key issues affecting residents, including affordability.