Toronto’s election is off to a late start as Brad Bradford took an early lead.
With 15 of 1,431 polls reporting, Incumbent Olivia Chow now narrowly leads with 52 per cent of the votes and Bradford just behind with 43 per cent.
The doors to Mayor Olivia Chow's party at The Great Hall opened to supporters just after the polls closed at 8 p.m. Monday.
The music is starting to get loud at the Queen Street West venue, as drinks are served and people's hopes are high that the results will whisk the incumbent back to the mayor's office.
A recent Mainstreet Research survey reported Chow was leading among decided voters over Brad Bradford. 38 per cent to 32 per cent.
Angel De Grato, 25, has been volunteering on incumbent Chow’s election campaign for the past two months.
At the Great Hall venue, De Grato said that canvassing and talking to people about Chow was important and humbling.
“We don’t want to move backwards,” she said.
De Grato said that as a Filipino, she understands the concerns of the community when it comes to healthcare. She said that when she was assigned to canvass in a Somalian community, it was “just so humbling.”
“You understand that a lot of people care a lot about stuff,” she said, “it’s really important to elect a person that’s going to move forward.”
It was important for De Grato, a daycare teacher, to be a voice for her community of educators, “especially as underrepresented as we are in the city.”
De Grato said she sees how hard Chow works and how much she “hustles for the city.” She also said she hopes Chow reaches more communities.
“We’re hoping to win.”
MORE TO COME.
