Despite being the largest city in the province of Alberta, home to the seemingly invincible Conservative dynasty of Lougheed, Getty, Klein, Day, and now Harper, for the last nine years Calgary had been led by a well-known Liberal. A former candidate for then-Prime Minister Allan Rock during the 1998 federal election, outgoing Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier announced that he would forgo a third term as the city’s chief municipal official in favor of a bid to lead the provincial Liberals in the run-up to the 2012 provincial election. Before long the pundits of the Calgary Herald, Globe and Mail, and online bloggers like Dave Cournoyer began speculation over who would end up vying for the job of mayor. Naheed Nenshi, a failed former candidate for city council, was mentioned as a possible contender, but poor polling and the chance to run for the provincial Liberals meant the Calgary Herald writer would ultimately decline to run. Various Calgary-area MPs, such as Ric McIver, Alison Redford, and Heather Forsyth were reported to be also considering bids, and had fans actively encouraging them, but having to step down from a seat at the cabinet table in Ottawa made such runs nonstarters. There were evens rumors that Ken King, the CEO of Calgary Flames Limited Partnership and Calgary Flames Inc, and the former President of the Calgary Herald, was on the verge of jumping into the race.
In the end only three candidates emerged with the financial and political backing necessary for a credible campaign; former Calgary journalist Barb Higgins, Liberal MLA Kent Hehr, and former NDP MLA Bob Hawkesworth. A traditional battle between conservatives, liberals, and New Democrats, Higgins enjoyed the backing of numerous right-wing activists, from Ralph Klein’s former Chief of Staff to officials within the PMO. Hehr on the other hand, was backed by Bronconnier as his preferred successor, and benefited from what support the federal and provincial Liberals could muster in the region. Hawkesworth, a former 80s era alderman himself and wildly agreed upon as the most municipally experienced candidate in the race, hoped that his praise for Bronconnier combined with his career as a poverty crusader would be enough to make him a serious contender for Calgary’s top job, if at least supplement Hehr as Higgins’ main challenger in the race.
One of the more distinguished and tough-talking speakers of the Legislative Assembly, the longtime Liberal Justice critic’s interest in running for mayor had been an open secret in Albertan political circles. Despite being backed by much of Bronconnier’s former campaign team, Hehr argued that City Council had become dysfunctional, and after having embraced a culture of entitlement, new leadership was required. As for Higgins, her two decades with CTV Calgary meant that, although she was the least politically experienced candidate, she had the highest name recognition out of all the eleven candidates running. For her top priority, Higgins pledge to tackle the $60-million budget shortfall that had plagued City Hall, stressing that a fiscally conservative candidate such as herself was needed to get Calgary back on track. Ruling out cuts to either property taxes or services, Bob Hawkesworth's platform focused on policies which reflected his experience as an alderman, namely the need to balance the books gradually, increase money for snow removal, and work towards reducing Calgary's ecological footprint through the construction of green homes. Thankfully for voters, aside for some agreements for controlling finances and increasing the number of police offers, each of the three major candidates offer clear and distinctive agendas for the city.
Although polls showed Higgins and Hehr essentially tied as the frontrunenrs of the race, the latter’s blunt style of speaking eventually caught the candidate in hot water. Following an interview with CBC News' Calgary affiliate, Hehr was caught on mic saying to a campaign associate that he believed Higgins wasn't tough enough to be mayor, and was too used to being treated kindly by people by virtue of her career in journalism. The Liberal MLA, who was already facing questions over his recent flip-flop decision to resign his seat in the legislature, further suggested that his rival would likely resign after a few confrontations with members of Calgary's City Council. Within the week Hehr was forced to issue a public apology to Higgins, as well as see his poll numbers decline significantly as left-leaning voters moved towards Hawkesworth’s camp. Despite the controversy, Hehr announced his decision to remain in the race, admitting that although he regretted what he had said, he remained the best candidate to get City Hall in order.
Unfortunately for Hehr, neither an increasing number of voters, nor those close to outgoing Mayor Bronconnier, agreed. Hawkesworth’s congenial, easy-going persona contrasted greatly with Hehr’s more confrontational style, and although such tactics proved beneficial during the back and forth in the Albertan Legislature, they became detrimental in municipal politics. Yet, without his seat in the legislature, many within his inner circle agreed that Hehr’s only option was to try and whether the storm, lest he wind up on the unemployment line.
As the outsider of the race, Higgins embraced the fact that she lacked little business or managerial experience, citing that as mayor she wouldn’t spend her days trying to tell employees at City Hall how to do their job. Although some analysts criticized the former CTV Anchorwoman for lacking a detailed campaign platform, other conceded that the Tory-backed candidate would benefit from the fact that most voters generally avoided reading thirty-paged policy documents, and instead focused on the basic notion of whether they could trust a candidate or not. Thanks to her career of reporting the news to Calgarians, many voters did trust her, and increasingly viewed her as a credible candidate for mayor. With Prime Minister Dinning and Calgary Liberal MLA Dave Taylor both letting it slip that they intended to vote for Higgins, it revealed that the race had begun to transcend party lines.
Despite a surprisingly strong showing on the part of Bob Hawkesworth, Barb Higgins would be elected as the 36th Mayor of Calgary, and the first conservative elected to the job since Ralph Klein in the early 1980s.
Mayors of Calgary
Al Duerr 1989-2001
Dave Bronconnier 2001-2010
Barb Higgins 2010-
Suffice to say, after twelve years of Centre-right governance in Toronto, begun by Mel Lastman and continued under Case Ootes, most pundits expected that Torontonians would opt for change in the upcoming mayoral election, and elect a more centrist or even left-leaning mayor. The list of possible candidates testing the waters to lead Canada’s largest city, with a GDP equivalent to the province of Alberta, was understandably long. Possible right-wing candidates included a mixture of sitting city councilors, provincial MPPs, federal members of parliament, and outside businesspeople. Prior to her decision to enter federal politics, where she would be narrowly elected as the member of parliament for St. Paul’s, Conservative MP and former councilor Karen Stintz was well known to harbor ambitions to become mayor. But with career in federal politics only having just begun, the possibility of her entering the race appeared unlikely. Some suggested that John Tory, long seen as Prime Minister Dinning’s logical successor as leader of the Conservative Party, would opt to run for the job once held by one of his mentors, David Crombie. But as he was still Finance Minister, Tory running for mayor was little more than a pipedream held by local business executives and Steve Paikin. As for sitting councilors, Michael Thompson, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Rob Ford, and Doug Holyday rounded out the names most frequently mentioned as credible candidates.
For City Halls centrist faction, the number of possible contenders for the mayor’s chair was surprisingly short, reflecting the increasing polarization of Toronto politics. A longtime critic of Mayor Ootes approach to the budget, councilor Shelley Carrol had garnered a reputation as a tough talking, yet competent member of Toronto City Hall. A former New Democrat-turned-Liberal, former Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray had resided in the city since early 2004, and was often touted as a possible contender. Other Liberals, like former Ontario Liberal leader Gerard Kennedy and Kirsty Duncan, by virtue of their name recognition, were also mentioned, but quickly ruled themselves shortly after their names began to be floated.
When it came to left-wing candidates, there was no shortage of potential candidates expressing their interest in running. Peggy Nash has garnered a strong reputation during her time with the Canadian Auto Workers Union, and appeared open to the possibility of running for mayor. Joe Pantalone, the runner-up to Mayor Ootes 2006 re-election, had expressed his desire to once again contest for the mayor’s job, but found few financial backers or supporters interested in backing a candidate who threw what many considered a winnable election. By far the name on the top of everyone’s hypothetic lists was former Mayoral candidate and current NDP Finance Critic, David Miller. Coming second to outgoing Mayor Case Ootes during the latter’s initial election, Miller had become a fierce critic of what he labeled as an immoral approach to the city’s finances, and a focus on spreadsheets as opposed to human needs. Polls conducted up to a year before the election showed Miller the overwhelming favorite to become Toronto’s next Mayor. Miller had even begun to take the necessary steps to formulize his campaign team, and had begun to reach out to donors willing to finance his bid. Yet Miller’s in-the-process-of-being-formed campaign would be blown apart by the entry of fellow NDP MP Olivia Chow, wife of provincial NDP leader, and former mayoral candidate, Jack Layton. Offering up a stronger, somewhat populist message to disaffected left-wing advocates, Chow’s insurgent campaign, backed by a significant portion of the provincial New Democrats and those loyal to her husband, quickly sucked the air out of Miller’s sails, who in turn was reported to be frightened off by Chow’s hard-knuckle campaign tactics, which were designed to force him out of the race.
Ultimately only Chow, Etobicoke councilor Rob Ford, whose “straight-talking”, and unique brand of populism proved even more vitriolic then Chow’s, and former Ootes budget chief David Soknacki, the quiet and unassuming center-right successor to the mayor, amassed enough cash and supporters to make it into the tier of credible candidates.
Councilor Ford attacked both Chow and Soknacki as either being contributors or enablers of the “gravy train” – namely the waste and mismanagement brought on by council. Ford’s personal popularity enamored the citizens of his native Etobicoke, but found little resonance throughout the rest of Toronto. Ford, after all, had been a close ally of Mayor Ootes and his cost cutting agenda, thus to have the former campaign as a political outsider appeared an odd, if not unbelievable choice. Councilor Ford also lacked the backing of numerous local provincial and federal conservatives, including the outgoing mayor himself, many of whom viewed the bombastic and gaffe-prone candidate as the less electable center-right candidate who could take on Chow. Soknacki, on the other hand, was plagued by the fact that he was boring. promised to replace the Scarborough RT with a light rail transit as opposed to pushing for the creation of a subway, as had been mentioned as a possible alternative. The former budget chief also pushed for a continuation of careful fiscal discipline, and pledged to keep property-tax increase within the rate of inflation. Chow, meanwhile, pushed improved busing as the solution for Toronto’s public transit woes. The only issue that both Chow and Soknacki appeared uncomfortable with was being the city’s primary sales person. Chow’s occasional difficulty with the English language, and Soknacki’s bland speaking style, meant that when it came to championing Toronto’s interests on the national stage, councilor Ford appeared the better equipped.
As the campaign wore on, polls showed Ford gaining momentum. Despite his association with the outgoing mayor, Ford appealed to the blue-collar Toronto voter worried about their taxes and the apparent inaction of council on controversial issues. The Etobicoke councilor was to-the-point, pledged to get things done, give voice to the voiceless, and would keep their taxes low no matter what. Soknacki, a policy wonk by trade, often appeared inelegant as he attempted to explain his positions. He simply lacked the fire and messaging enjoyed by the Ford campaign and their candidate. Still, as the center-right was split, so increased the chances that Olivia Chow and her often described uninspiring campaign, would be elected mayor, much to the dismay of conservative, especially Ford, voters.
On Election Night Toronto voters wanted a change, and they got exactly that. Olivia Chow was elected the 64th Mayor of the City of Toronto by a margin of five percent over councilor Rob Ford. A much closer result than had been anticipated, Chow had achieved what her husband could not back in 1991, and was now empowered to implement her agenda, just so long as the majority of council agreed to it. Rob Ford, having lost his seat on city council as a result of his campaign for mayor, indicated that his brother, councilor Doug Ford, would become the representative of “Ford Nation” on council. Ford also expressed interest in possibly challenging Chow in 2014, or even jumping ship to either the provincial or federal scene. With Olivia Chow having been elected mayor, there would need to be a by-election to fill her federal seat in the House of Commons. Candidates expressing interest in running in Trinity-Spadina quickly began making calls, setting up a bitter battle between the cash-strapped Liberals and the defending New Democrats.
Mayors of Toronto (Post-amalgamation)
Mel Lastman 1998-2003
Case Ootes 2003-2010
Olivia Chow 2010-
