Olivia Chow resigned Mar. 13 from her Parliament seat and officially launched her campaign to run in Toronto’s next mayoral race.
Chow declared her candidacy in the downtown St. James Town neighbourhood where she grew up. Chow talked about coming from a family of immigrants, and how her childhood taught her lessons she needs in order to lead Canada’s largest city.
“Those lessons that you need to work hard for what you want, and that you can’t spend what you haven’t earned, have stayed with me my entire life,” Chow said during her announcement.
“I’ll be talking about a plan to put children at the heart of this city; a plan to strengthen our small businesses to promote jobs and prosperity; a plan to get people moving faster now, not in 20 years from now and we will do all these things while minding the public purse – responsibly,” she said.
Chow is running against incumbent mayor Rob Ford.
“The current mayor’s disappointing leadership has let us down over and over again,” Chow said. “The current mayor is failing at his job, and he is no role model for children.”
The day before Chow’s announcement, Ford welcome Chow to the race, saying, “She makes David Miller look like a conservative.”
Chow is the most prominent left-wing candidate currently in the race, and may have a united base already behind her. The right, on the other hand, may be split between candidates such as Ford and John Tory.
The election will take place Oct. 27, 2014.
