Toronto elects Olivia Chow as Canada’s first Chinese mayor

TORONTO (Reuters) – Olivia Chao became the first Chinese Canadian to be elected mayor of Canada’s largest city, Toronto, on Monday, pledging to support tenants, champion social causes and reduce the sweeping powers of her office.

“I will dedicate myself to working tirelessly on building a more caring, affordable, and safe city where everyone belongs,” Zhao told her supporters during her victory speech.

And Zhao received 37.2% of the vote, according to preliminary results, ahead of her closest rival Anna Pailao, a former deputy mayor.

A prominent voice in progressive politics, Chow’s campaign drew on her record as a former Member of Parliament in Ottawa and as a member of the Toronto City Council, and drew on the historic relationships forged by her late husband, the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Federal Opposition Leader Jack Layton.

Zhao, 66, will be the first female mayor since Barbara Hall in 1997. She previously ran for mayor in 2014, when she came in third.

Born in Hong Kong, Chow immigrated to Canada at the age of 13, and graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in Fine Arts.

Zhao takes over as mayor after the resignation of John Tory, the conservative-leaning mayor who won his third election last October. The married Tory left his position in February after admitting he had an affair with a staff member.

Zhao will lead Canada’s financial capital at a time of rising housing costs and an increase in violent attacks on public transportation that has led to calls for more police action. It has pledged to build 25,000 rent-controlled homes over eight years to counter rising rents.

From the start of the campaign, Zhao had been leading her rivals in the polls. Toure had endorsed his former deputy Bailao, while Premier of Ontario Doug Ford endorsed former Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders.

Ford congratulated Chow, and said he was willing to work with anyone willing to “work with our government to improve our city and county.”

(Reporting by Sam Jabri Beckett). Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Michael Berry

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