Liberal MPP Mary Margaret McMahon’s constituency office burned down during the early hours of Saturday morning in what she calls a “devastating” fire.
Police were called to the office on Glebemount Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue shortly before 2:30 a.m.
The blaze was extinguished by Toronto Fire and no injuries were reported.
“The district fire chief attended the scene and determined that the fire was not suspicious,” police told CityNews.
McMahon, the incumbent for Beaches-East York in the upcoming provincial election, says she found out Sunday morning via Facebook while she was out canvassing in the riding.
“It was quite the surprise and shock … we put our heart and soul into that space and creating a warm and welcoming and wonderful space for our residents to come,” she told CityNews on Tuesday.
“When people come to see us, they’re often struggling and it’s their last resort to come and get help from us. So we wanted it to be as comfortable for them as possible and so we set it up like a living room … we don’t call it a constituency office. We call it a community hub … so that’s all destroyed.”
She added that her team is “shook up” as they prepare for election day, but says they will not let the loss slow down her campaign’s momentum.
“I have spoken extensively with the fire chief, Jim Jessop … it’s weird timing, right? But they’re saying they don’t suspect any foul play … we’re not letting it be a distraction. I have an election that I would like to win with my team and community. And so we’re focusing on the election and I’ll deal with this situation, this mess after the election,” she said.
McMahon’s team is currently working from home and she says if she is “fortunate enough to win” on Thursday, they will need to look for a new office space going forward.
“I have to say the firefighters have been incredible. The outpouring of support from the east end community is like a warm, fuzzy blanket and it’s been lovely,” she said.
“It’s really nice to have that in this time of turmoil.”
