Article
Step Aside to Run Again: Why Incumbents Seeking Re-Election to Toronto City Council Should Take a Campaign Leave of Absence
Anyone seeking re-election to Toronto City Council, including the mayor, should step aside from office for the length of the campaign. An election is supposed to be a contest between candidates. Under the current rules it is a contest between one candidate and the full apparatus of the city.
On October 26, Olivia Chow was re-elected mayor with about 54 per cent of the vote (CTV News; Global News). Her win was clear, and voters chose. But for the entire campaign she was also the mayor. She held press conferences at City Hall, made announcements on the public dime, and was in the news every day for doing her job. Her challenger had to raise money and fight for every minute of that coverage. Claims that you defeated your opponents by a landslide are not serious claims. You defeated your opponents by abusing the City’s resources, including access to City Hall facilities and the police to threaten your opponents.
This is not a complaint about one mayor. Every incumbent on council, of every political stripe, enjoys the same advantage. That is exactly why the rule should change.
What the office gives a candidate
An incumbent running for re-election keeps six things a challenger has to pay for or does without:
- Salary. The incumbent is paid throughout the campaign. A challenger often has to cut hours or leave a job to run.
- Staff. Office staff handle the incumbent’s schedule, research and communications. They are barred from campaign work, but the line between governing and campaigning blurs in an election year.
- Access to City Hall facilities. The incumbent operates out of City Hall offices, committee rooms and civic spaces every day while challengers are locked out of municipal facilities.
- The title. “Mayor” or “Councillor” on every introduction, debate stage and news caption carries authority that no campaign budget can buy.
- Media access. Reporters cover City Hall every day. An incumbent is news simply by doing the job; a challenger has to manufacture events to be noticed.
- The power to announce. A new program, a funding decision or a ribbon-cutting in the weeks before a vote is governing on paper and campaigning in effect.
In Toronto this advantage is larger than it used to be. Since the province gave the mayor “strong mayor” powers, including control over the budget, the mayor’s office is the single most powerful platform in municipal politics.
Why today’s rules are not enough
Ontario does try to limit the advantage. The Municipal Elections Act bars the use of municipal resources for campaigns, and Toronto restricts councillors’ taxpayer-funded newsletters and advertising in the months before an election (City of Toronto Policy).
These rules regulate the tools but leave the platform untouched. They stop an incumbent from mailing a campaign flyer on city letterhead. They do nothing about the mayor chairing council, appearing at every major announcement, or being introduced as “Mayor” on the debate stage.
The result is predictable. In Toronto, incumbents seeking re-election rarely lose. Voters may be satisfied in many of those races, but no one can say the contest was equal.
The proposal: a campaign leave of absence
“Step aside” does not have to mean resign. A workable rule would be a mandatory leave of absence for every incumbent who files to run again:
- When: from nomination day in August to election day in October, roughly nine weeks.
- Pay: the incumbent’s salary is suspended for the leave, the same sacrifice most challengers make.
- Mayor’s duties: the deputy mayor acts as head of council, as the deputy already does when the mayor is absent. Strong-mayor powers are not used during the leave.
- Ward duties: the councillor’s office stays open and staff keep serving residents, but the councillor does not attend council or issue communications as a councillor.
- The title: candidates appear on ballots, debate stages and campaign material by name only.
The city would not stop working. Council already meets less often in the election period, and Ontario law already limits what a council may decide during a lame-duck period. This rule simply extends that logic to the people asking to be returned to office.
Answering the objections
“Who runs the city?” The deputy mayor and the public service, as they do during any absence. Nine weeks is shorter than many parental leaves. A city that cannot function for nine weeks without one person has a governance problem, not an election problem.
“What about an emergency?” Write in an exception. If a provincially declared emergency affects the city, the mayor returns to duty and the leave pauses. Emergencies are rare; elections happen every four years.
“Voters should judge the record.” They still can. The record exists on the day the leave begins. Stepping aside removes the ability to add fresh announcements to it in the final weeks, which is exactly the point.
“It will discourage good people from running again.” A challenger gives up the same salary and more to run. If nine weeks without pay is too much for an incumbent, it is too much for everyone else, and we already ask it of everyone else.
A fair start line
No one is asking incumbents to give up the record they built or the trust they earned. They are being asked to stand where every challenger stands: on their own name, their own money and their own ideas, for nine weeks every four years.
Toronto changes its rules for who can donate, how much can be spent and where signs can go. It can change this one too. The province should amend the Municipal Elections Act to require a campaign leave of absence for every incumbent seeking re-election, and council should ask for it before the next campaign begins.
This proposal should be introduced immediately as a formal motion at Toronto City Council. I call on a Member of Toronto City Council to bring forward a motion at the opening session of the new term that:
- Establishes a City of Toronto rule requiring any incumbent Mayor or City Councillor who files nomination papers for re-election to take an unpaid campaign leave of absence from nomination day until election day, during which the Deputy Mayor acts as head of council and strong-mayor powers are not exercised; and
- Formally requests the Government of Ontario to amend the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and the City of Toronto Act, 2006 to codify a mandatory campaign leave of absence for municipal incumbents across Ontario before the next municipal election cycle.
What critics will say
This piece argues one side. Readers and opponents will likely raise these points:
- No precedent. As far as is known, no Canadian or US jurisdiction requires officials to leave office to seek re-election to the same seat. US “resign-to-run” laws apply only when an official seeks a different office.
- Equity. Unpaid leave falls hardest on councillors without savings or other income, which could tilt incumbency toward the wealthy.
- Continuity. Some argue a city needs its elected leader in place during a campaign, especially with strong-mayor budget powers in play.
- Mixed evidence. Incumbents may win mainly because voters are satisfied or know their names, not because of the office’s resources, so a leave might change little.
- Other remedies. Critics may prefer narrower fixes: a blackout on official announcements, stricter limits on office communications, or public financing for challengers.
Dr. Bahira Abdulsalam, PhD, P.Eng.
Founder, Be The Change Movement | bahira.ca
Sources & Legal Framework
- Ontario: Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 32, Sched. (s. 88.18, Use of municipal, board resources)
- City of Toronto: Use of City Resources During an Election Period Policy
- Ontario: City of Toronto Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A (Part VI.1, Special Powers and Duties of the Head of Council / Strong Mayor Powers; s. 214, Restricted Acts after Nomination Day / Lame-Duck Period)
- Ontario: Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 (s. 275, Restricted Acts after Nomination Day)
- City of Toronto Elections: Manage a Campaign & Candidate Rules
- CTV News: 2026 Toronto Mayoral Election Results (Olivia Chow re-elected with about 54 per cent)
- Global News: Toronto voters re-elect Olivia Chow as mayor
A Fair Start Line for Every Candidate.
Support our call for Toronto City Council to introduce a formal motion requiring a campaign leave of absence for incumbents seeking re-election.
Dr. Bahira Abdulsalam, PhD, P.Eng.
Founder, Be The Change Movement
bahira.ca
Volunteer with us → | (647) 785-3729 | bethechangeno1@gmail.com
