Bob Hepburn writes in this morning’s Toronto Star that political parties should be allowed to contest municipal elections. (Click "Read more" below) 

I agree.

The Province bans political parties from fielding candidates in municipal elections peddling the fiction that all candidates are independents, untainted by political ideology who just want the best for their patch.

In the race to succeed John Tory as Mayor of Toronto Hepburn says 

“…most people will cast their ballots based more on sheer name recognition rather than where the candidates stand on critical issues or where they lie on the right-left spectrum.”

Hepburn goes on:

“The arguments for municipal parties are convincing. If the candidates were allied with established parties, we would better understand where they fit into the bigger picture for Toronto.

There would be party platforms, providing voters with vital information about candidates to better help them make their choices. Voter turnout, traditionally pathetic for local elections, could potentially increase. Parties help to recruit candidates and finance their campaigns, which could lead to greater diversity of serious candidates.”

Collapsing turnout

In a blog posted a few days before the last municipal election on 24 October in Newmarket I predicted that two-thirds of people wouldn’t vote. That was a big under-estimate.

In the event, turnout in the Town was a lamentable 24%

Political parties – or newly created local parties - just might drive up voter turnout. 

My experience of running for election locally last October only reinforces my view that things have got to change if we are to get people interested and engaged in local politics.  The indifference and ignorance on the doorstep about municipal government and how it works was a real eye-opener.

I spent a lot of time talking to people. There was no rosette on my lapel to give voters a rough idea of my politics. I had to start from scratch explaining a bit about myself and why I was running. And then taking questions. Ten minutes at a doorstep was not unusual.

Raising the cash to campaign

There are very real disincentives running for election as an “independent”. For a start, you’ve got to raise large sums of money. 

When I ran for Deputy Mayor and Regional Councillor the rules allowed me to spend a truly colossal $57,153.35 on my campaign. My self-funding limit (the amount my spouse and I could spend on the campaign using our own money) was an eye-watering $17,241.40. In the event I only spent a small fraction of what was allowable.

But these huge sums of money would deter most people from throwing their hat into the ring. The alternative is to campaign on a shoe-string and hope for good local coverage in the press and media and an effective performance in the election debates (if there are any).

Heavy lifting

Political Parties get a bad press (often for good reasons) but they do the heavy lifting for candidates. They provide the finance and the support.

They would allow people to run for Mayor or Deputy Mayor (where the campaign limits are highest) without breaking the bank. (But if people want to run as independents there's nothing to stop them.)

Like-minded people could set up local parties to contest elections. Let’s say… “Newmarket First”. Candidates running under that banner would have a common set of priorities which they would present to the public, sharing campaign expenses and raising money as a local Party.

But if this is to work, political parties would have to reinvent themselves as local campaigning organisations. Identifying issues that people feel strongly about and offering solutions.

Hollowed out

And that is a big ask. Too many are atrophied and hollowed out with tiny memberships, leaving it to their MPs or MPPs (if they have one) to be their public face.

At their best, political parties shape the agenda and have a long institutional memory. When everyone else has forgotten the details of a crisis or local calamity or misjudgement, they can remember what happened and why. They can also bring in new blood, encourage younger people to get involved, and mentor those who might wish to run for office one day.

I had to run as an independent last October because the system wouldn’t allow anything else.

Silly system.

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Allow municipal political parties

Within hours of John Tory announcing his resignation as mayor of Toronto, potential candidates were circling for his job, testing the waters or lining up organizers to run their coming campaigns. Already the list of possible candidates has grown long: Josh Matlow, Ana Bailão, Gil Penalosa, Brad Bradford, Michael Ford, Chloe Brown, Mike Layton, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Mitzi Hunter, Kristyn Wong-Tam, Michael Coteau, Blake Acton, Bhutila Karpoche, Mark Saunders and more.

But who are these people who want your vote for mayor? Who is a Conservative, an NDPer or a Liberal? Who’s a left-winger? Who’s a right-winger?

I bet few voters can identify the background and party ties of each of these people hoping to be Toronto’s next mayor.

And yet, as hard as Toronto voters may try to get to know the candidates, most people will cast their ballots based more on sheer name recognition rather than where the candidates stand on critical issues or where they lie on the right-left spectrum.

The reason for that is because anyone running in any local election in Ontario, be it for mayor of Toronto or for town councillor in a rural community, must run as an individual, supposedly free from any political party affiliation.

Currently, Ontario law bans political parties, or “electors’ organizations,” from fielding candidates in municipal elections, such as the current Toronto mayor race. However, political parties exist in both Montreal and Vancouver, albeit it without the names of major parties such as NDP, Conservative and Liberal. So why not in Toronto? If Premier Doug Ford, who loves to meddle in Toronto politics, wants to make a real change in how the city is run, he should consider making Toronto mayoral elections — indeed all local elections in Ontario — better by permitting municipal political parties on voter ballots.

It’s not as if Ford doesn’t have a view on municipal party politics and on which type of candidate he wants to win the Toronto mayor’s race. Ford told reporters after Tory’s resignation that he is opposed to any candidate who isn’t a Conservative. “If it’s a left mayor who gets in there, God help the people of Toronto,” he said, adding that “it would be a disaster. I’ll tell you if a left-wing mayor gets in there, we’re toast.”

True, it’s fairly easy to identify some candidates as aligned with major political parties. That’s because party politics is widespread at city hall, with most councillors — but not all — linked to the Conservatives, NDP or Liberal.

In fact, Conservative and NDP organizers wasted no time after hearing of Tory’s resignation to try to ensure that at least one serious candidate with deep ties to each of their parties is on the ballot in the coming mayoral byelection, expect in June or early July.

The arguments for municipal parties are convincing. If the candidates were allied with established parties, we would better understand where they fit into the bigger picture for Toronto.

There would be party platforms, providing voters with vital information about candidates to better help them make their choices. Voter turnout, traditionally pathetic for local elections, could potentially increase. Parties help to recruit candidates and finance their campaigns, which could lead to greater diversity of serious candidates.

Importantly, it would also get rid of the illusion that candidates are true independents without any leftor right-leaning agenda, who just want what’s best for the city.

Allowing municipal parties would be a smart move. It’s a far better way for Ford to improve Toronto civic operations than unilaterally slashing city council in half as he did before the 2018 civic election or granting “strong mayor” powers to the mayor to pass bylaws with the backing of just one-third of councillors as he did in late 2022.

For Ford, this should be a nobrainer.

Allowing municipal parties would be a smart move by the premier — far better than slashing city council in half or granting ‘strong mayor’ powers