Toronto election: Read up on the candidates and the issues before you vote

After weeks of announcements, debates, endorsements and campaign events, Toronto is only days away from electing its next mayor.

In case you haven’t been paying attention — don’t worry, we don’t judge — here’s a roundup of some of the Star’s finest election coverage to help you make an informed decision on Monday.

Voter must-haves

Poll Tracker: This collaboration with Vox Pop Labs crunches the latest numbers from firms like Forum Research and Liaison Strategies to show how the horse race has progressed over the past few weeks. As of June 19, front-runner Olivia Chow enjoyed 31 per cent, with second-place Mark Saunders at 14 per cent and Ana Bailão in third at nearly 13 points.

Promise Tracker: For a snapshot at how the top seven mayoral hopefuls approach key issues like housing and transit, check out their proposals here.

Vote Compass: Still not sure which candidate most aligns with your views? Try this survey, another nifty collab with Vox Pop Labs, to identify where you stand in relation to the leading candidates.

Election day guide: Here’s everything you need to know to cast a ballot on Monday.

Can they lead? A closer look at the top contenders

Borrowing a tactic from the business world, the Star performed “360 performance reviews“ of the leading contenders in the mayoral race. We talked to people all around the candidates — those who have worked above them, next to them and under them — to understand their strengths and weaknesses as voters prepare to decide who will be Toronto’s next leader.

Ana Bailão, the Pragmatist: “The former city councillor is a gifted collaborator, say those around her. Some worry that conciliatory approach could be a weakness in a mayor.”

Brad Bradford, the New Kid: “The councillor has admirers who call him a “natural leader,” but one constituent calls his dedication to social change ‘performative.’”

Olivia Chow, the Organizer: “The poll leader is widely admired for her ability to mobilize. Her critics wonder whether her opposition skills will apply in the top job.”

Anthony Furey, the Provocateur: “Anthony Furey has surged in the mayoral polls, raising new questions about his newspaper columns and the hard-right website he runs.”

Mitzie Hunter, the Doer: “The former MPP and cabinet minister has enthusiasm and energy, say colleagues. But she’s struggled in the polls in the mayoral election.”

Josh Matlow, the Maverick: “He’s a ‘refreshing’ and uncompromising politician, say those who know him. But some worry that inflexibility would make governing impossible.”

Mark Saunders, the Lawman: “The former police chief knows how to lead and develop consensus, say those who’ve worked with him. Others argue he’s not open-minded enough.”

Promises, promises … Expert reality checks of the platforms

The Star asked several experts to assess how each contender promises to fix Toronto’s most pressing challenges. Here are their takes, broken down by key issue areas:

City finances

Housing

Traffic

Crime and public safety

Transit

Ontario Place, Dundas renaming and Gardiner rebuild

Deeper dives

Dreamers, schemers and true believers: There are seven candidates who’ve made it into the upper echelon. But they represent only a fraction of the 102 people vying for the mayor’s chair – the most in Toronto’s history. Staff reporters Ben Spurr and Ben Mussett introduce us to some of the lesser-known hopefuls.

The Ford factor: Doug Ford looms large over this election. City hall bureau chief David Rider looks at how the premier fits into this race, as well as how leading candidates have responded.

Is Toronto becoming less safe? A rash of random violence has put many Torontonians on edge. But what do the statistics show? Despite rising fears, staff reporters Alyshah Hasham and Jennifer Pagliaro find that Toronto remains a relatively safe city compared to other municipalities — and there’s been “no clear spike” in the most violent crimes.

‘It’s the number one issue for us’: Could renters, who’ve had to endure an increasingly bruising market, play kingmaker this election? Housing reporters May Warren and Victoria Gibson sat down with tenants looking for some relief.

To “strong mayor” or not: Toronto’s next mayor will wield immense powers, including the ability to override majority votes on council. But, as Ben Spurr writes, the top mayoral hopefuls are mixed on whether to use those so-called “strong mayor” powers.

How top candidates would tackle the drug crisis: Around 500 people died from opioids in Toronto last year. Alyshah Hasham reviews how the main contenders say they’ll address one of the most significant public health crises of our time.

Olivia Chow’s tax plan under fire: The former NDP MP’s approach to property taxes has been among the most consistent talking points during this election. But despite the onslaught, the attacks seem to have just bounced off the front-runner, reports Ben Spurr.

How to get Toronto moving? The leading mayoral hopefuls have come up with a laundry list of ways to fix congestion. But many of those don’t stand up to scrutiny, according to the experts transportation reporter Lex Harvey consulted.

The fiery debate over renaming Dundas Street: The city plans to rename Dundas Street, prompted by the role Henry Dundas, an influential 18th-century Scottish politician, played in upholding slavery. Senior writer Francine Kopun delves into both sides of the argument.

What the columnists have to say

“In Toronto today, the very poor and very young are relocating to Hamilton or Walkerton or Fredericton if they’re lucky enough not to have been relocated to the street. And those of us still barely able to pay the sky-high rents are left to wonder — as the city wrestles with the latest in an unending series of episodes of Making Things Hard that Should Not be Hard — if the feast has already moved on without us. Wherever it is, the feast certainly isn’t taking place on street patios yet, to the extent it should,” wrote city columnist Edward Keenan — with a nod to the recent CaféTO fiasco — on June 17.

Check out Keenan’s other work here.

“Who is Toronto for? Big business only? Or people and small businesses trying to make and live a reasonably good and prosperous life here? Evidence suggests the answer, but the new mayor can start to change that,” contributing columnist Shawn Micallef wrote on June 18.

Read more from Micallef here.

“It’s odd isn’t it that Torontonians are being advised to stay inside their homes to avoid breathing in dangerous air and yet what is arguably the city’s and the world’s most pressing crisis has been a topic largely absent from the political campaign,” noted staff columnist Emma Teitel amid the haze on June 10.

Find more of Teitel’s columns here.

“I’ve had my criticisms of Chow’s campaign. I think she’s been too light on the details behind her policy proposals and how she’ll pay for them. But should she prevail on June 26, Toronto will probably be helped by having a mayor who knows from experience that you can’t fix a broken city with spending cuts. The value of ’90s nostalgia is that it provides a pretty clear lesson. You want a great city? You have to invest in it,” contributing columnist Matt Elliot wrote on June 20.

Read more from Elliott here.

“Voters will have lots of options when they cast their ballots. Ana Bailão may be right when she says that, more than any other candidate, she offers voters the best chance of challenging Chow,” said staff columnist Bob Hepburn on June 8.

Here’s where you can find more from Hepburn.

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