The drop-dead date to drop out of the Toronto municipal election came and went last Friday — and last-minute entrant Chris Alexander didn’t get the hint.
Despite more columns than I’ve ever seen at municipal election time urging him to leave the race for mayor of our once great city or asking why the hell he’s running, he chose to remain in the race.
After watching his phony and pathetic campaign for the past three weeks, I’m more than convinced that he was encouraged to jump into the race to split the vote and stop Brad Bradford’s momentum.
Instead of articulating clear policies or solutions to Toronto’s many problems, he keeps tweeting about Ukraine and Afghanistan. Of course. That’s what he knows.
In fact, he has been mocked for this one and others that have little to do with municipal issues:
“The fall of Kabul five years ago was a betrayal & catastrophe with global
reach, ending legitimate representative institutions for Afghans & education for women & girls, triggering vicious Taliban reprisals & aggression by Russia & others.” Only joint action can end this darkness.”
This one was from the Ex on Warriors’ Day:
“It was great to reconnect with many friends, veterans & serving members before this morning’s Warriors’ Day Parade at the Ex. As mayor, I would expand Toronto’s role as a hub for national defence & do more for veterans, including the many who served in Afghanistan.”
This one came early Sunday morning after Carney failed at getting a trade deal with the U.S.:
“Our prime minister & premier deserve credit for the leadership they are showing. Canada must reject all Trump’s attempts at coercion. We as Torontonians need to stand together with the rest of Team Canada, as we have always done. Our values & our unity will see us through.”
He has spent more time blocking people on X —including me— who suggest he is out of his depth or who have urged him to drop out.
His public appearances are few and far between, and his policy platform — spelled out on his campaign website — is pablum with no specifics.
It shows us just how out of his depth he is and that he is merely a placeholder to ensure Bradford does not win.
When asked in a media interview to name the supporters who encouraged him to run— he claims there are dozens— he refused to do so.
I suspect the schemers behind his campaign include
Fat Ford, Kory Tenycke, Nick Kouvalis and even Olivia Chow’s antisemitic puppeteers from the ironically named Progress Toronto.
The first three have done a good job of trying to blow up Pierre Poilievre’s leadership of the CPC. I wouldn’t be surprised if the power-mad Ford wants to continue to control Toronto—and having the dim-witted Dancing Queen Chow back in office is the best way to do so.
Progress Toronto, which for the past four years has helped turn Toronto into a mess, would naturally not want to give up the reins of power. I saw what they did to my former Sun colleague Anthony Furey when he ran against Rachel Chernos Lin for a council seat two years ago.
I found nasty propaganda about him at the doors of the homes I canvassed — all petty, vindictive, and untrue.
Look, Bradford wouldn’t have been my first choice to take on Chow. I would have preferred Furey (who stayed out of the race to not split the vote).
Alexander doesn’t have a hope in hell of winning.
His Curtis Sliwa routine (who assured evil socialist Zoran Mamdani a win as mayor in New York) is likely to put the worst mayor ever back in office.
If you believe in polls, which I tend to take with a grain of salt, Alexander has the 10% support needed for Bradford to close the gap with Chow.
I can’t for the life of me understand how morally he can stay in the race knowing full well what it could mean for Toronto’s future.
Alexander obviously cares little about the city he professes to want to fix.
Or he’s desperate for money. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s getting paid to run.
At the very least, he’s likely been promised something — a plum appointment — to wreak havoc on the race.
And what about his “benefactors”—those “dozens of people” who convinced him to run?
It saddens me that after 25 years of watching the antics at Toronto City Hall, politics have sunk so low that Toronto can’t even have a fair race for mayor.
But then look at what Mark Carney did to win a majority in Ottawa. He lured over greedy PC MPs, who, I might add, now sit on the backbenches.
I hate to sound like a hardened cynic, but whatever happened to public service?