Chris for MayorWorld-class experience for a world-class cityChris for MayorWorld-class experience for a world-class cityPledge Your SupportChris for Mayor World-class experience for a world-class city

I’m not for the left. I’m not for the right. I’m for the solutions.

Five key PrioritiesFor Toronto

• 01Restart Toronto’s Economic EngineToronto already has what other cities dream of: The world’s best hospital. A top ten stock exchange. Leading research universities. Billions in investment capital. The most diverse talent pool on earth. And yet, we still underperform.We’re a world-class city. The fact that we don’t act like one is not a money problem. It’s a leadership problem.
  When I was the Federal Minister of Immigration, I was tasked with modernizing Canada’s immigration.

  Everyone said it couldn’t be done, it was too complex, too bureaucratic.

  I led the team that cracked it. Express Entry launched on January 1st, 2015. We attracted the world’s best talent: researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors. It is now the model every major western country uses. And it’s had a positive effect on the lives of 1 in 3 Torontonians.

  If I can reform Canadian immigration policies, I can get this economic engine started again.

  [ What changes ]

  • Adopt the Board of Trade priorities on budgeting, gridlock and zoning as city policy
  • Build the research to jobs bridge between hospitals, universities and the financial sector
  • Set a startup formation and growth target and report on it quarterly, in public

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• 02Get Torontonians Moving FasterThe TTC isn’t broken, it’s mismanaged.During my time in Moscow, I saw firsthand how outdated systems can slow a city’s progress.
  Toronto loses $200 million per year in fare evasion. So our work starts on day one. Real fare enforcement, so the system belongs to the people who are there to ride. Stations kept clean and safe. When ridership rises, so does revenue, bringing down fares for people who need it most.

  Next, we address the external factors at play: construction that drags on, signals timed for a city half our size.

  Building a better commute doesn’t stop with the TTC. It also involves protected bike lanes. Designed with neighbourhoods rather than against them, and never at the cost of the car commute. Built once, built right.

  [ What changes ]

  • A monthly transit safety and performance standard measured and published monthly
  • A public delay ledger for every transit project showing promised date beside actual date

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• 03Put Housing in ReachHousing affordability is about supply. But Toronto’s zoning is a maze, and our approvals are among the slowest in Canada.Our solution: More supply. Prices moderate. People stay.
  More than half of this city rents. That’s a majority. City Hall needs to work for renters, too.

  And as a former MP and Cabinet Minister, I know how to get stuck systems moving and enact real change.

  For our unhoused neighbours, stable housing with supports works better and costs less than shelters. Supports means the real thing: mental health care and substance use treatment attached to the housing, not a referral and a waiting list.

  The evidence is in. It’s time to act.

  [ What changes ]

  • The Toronto Renter Strategy: affordability targets, anti-displacement protection, standards enforcement
  • Faster approvals: a clock on every permit, published for every application
  • Pathways to ownership for young Torontonians and new Canadians

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• 04Strengthen NeighbourhoodsIf my time living in war-torn countries gave me anything, it’s an appreciation for my hometown of Toronto.Leafy streets. Great parks. Local libraries and rinks. Main streets full of life. Neighbours who look out for each other.
  And yet, potholes sit. Parks go untended, streets uncleaned. Too often, fixes depend on who you know at City Hall.

  In Afghanistan I improved governance, and introduced disarmament strategies during Taliban resurgence. I’m confident that as mayor, I can use this experience to help bring safety and order back to Toronto streets.

  [ What changes ]

  • The basics contract: ward by ward service standards with response time targets, tracked in public
  • Parks and public space: a cleanliness and safety standard, measured and published
  • Scale up the Toronto Community Crisis Service into a Toronto Community Support Service with a broader mandate to help people in need and support strong neighbourhoods

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• 05Be Ambitious for TorontoThe people running this city look at Toronto and see something smaller than it is. A mid-sized city with mid-sized problems. It isn’t. Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America and the economic engine of this country. We have been led small.Underperformance can be fixed. Ambition attracts talent. Apology repels it. When a neighbourhood thrives, it lifts the city. When Toronto works, it drives the country.
  We will lead like the world-class city we actually are.

  [ What changes ]

  • The institutions strategy: our hospitals, universities and exchange working as one advantage
  • The talent case: make it plain to every young person that their career will move forward here and their sector or industry will thrive here
  • Toronto as anchor partner to Ottawa and Queen’s Park on every national strategy

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