Politics · Canada · 2 hrs ago
Toronto election faces turnout test after record-low vote in 2022
Toronto’s municipal election is set for Oct.
26, after only 29.2 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in 2022.
That was the city’s lowest turnout on record, and participation was also low across Ontario.
In Etobicoke North, only 6,800 votes were enough to elect the incumbent councillor in a ward of 115,000 people.
Some residents say they do not feel city decisions will change their lives, while researchers also point to election fatigue, political distrust and the loss of local media.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has offered workshops to encourage people to run, and fewer candidates have been acclaimed without a contest this year.
Turnout rose in several British Columbia municipalities, but it is not yet clear whether Toronto will see a similar increase.
Toronto’s Oct. 26 municipal election will test whether voter turnout can recover from the city’s record-low 29.2 per cent turnout in 2022.
In Etobicoke North, only 6,800 votes elected incumbent councillor Vincent Crisanti in 2022, while 17 per cent of eligible voters at one public housing complex cast ballots.
Academics have cited factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, political toxicity, election fatigue, declining local media and barriers facing new and young Canadians.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario responded with workshops and social media ads to encourage people to run for local office.
Candidate acclamations have fallen from 548 in 2022 to 400 this year, and the number of municipalities with fully acclaimed councils has dropped from 32 to 19.
- Who
- Toronto voters and municipal candidates, including mayoral and council candidates.
- What
- The city’s municipal election faces a test of whether turnout will rise after a record-low vote in 2022.
- When
- Oct. 26, 2026.
- Where
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Why
- Toronto recorded a record-low 29.2 per cent turnout in 2022, prompting concern about voter participation and the strength of local democracy.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Toronto recorded a record-low municipal election turnout of 29.2 per cent.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario studied turnout and began offering workshops and running social media ads to encourage people to run for council.
Candidate acclamations fell to 400 from 548 in 2022, and the number of municipalities with fully acclaimed councils fell to 19 from 32.
British Columbia’s municipal election turnout reached 32.8 per cent, up from 29.2 per cent in 2022.
Toronto’s municipal election is scheduled to take place.
- Toronto turnout in 2022
- 29.2 per cent
- Etobicoke North population
- 115,000
- Votes that elected Vincent Crisanti
- 6,800
- Eligible voters at 44 Willowridge Rd. who voted in 2022
- 17 per cent
- Candidate acclamations
- 548 in 2022; 400 this year
- Municipalities with fully acclaimed councils
- 32 in 2022; 19 this year
What people are saying
People here just don’t feel like their lives are going to change based on decisions the city is making
When these things are not there, that’s when we see apathy taking over