A wind of change is blowing in Canadian politics.
asserted
wind → blow → politics
In British Columbia, the mayor of Vancouver and then the premier of the province were toppled in spectacular fashion, the first beaten by a Green Party upstart, the second by the leader of a party, the Conservatives, that had been in complete disarray.
asserted
that → topple → disarray
In Quebec, the separatist Parti Québécois returned to power after a dozen years in the wilderness, reducing the ruling Coalition Avenir Québec to precisely zero seats in the National Assembly.
asserted
Québécois → return → Assembly
Olivia Chow managed to buck the trend on Monday evening, beating back a serious challenge from an energetic city councillor, Brad Bradford, and winning a second term as mayor of Toronto.
asserted
Chow → manage → Toronto
It was quite an achievement for the former city councillor and NDP MP, who turns 70 next year.
asserted
who → turn → councillor
She arrived in Canada from Hong Kong with her parents at the age of 13, moving into a sprawling public housing complex.
asserted
She → arrive → complex
She won election to the school board at just 28, beginning a political career that has spanned four decades.
asserted
that → win → decades
That career seemed to be over in 2015, after she lost a bid for mayor, then a by-election that would have given her back a seat in the House of Commons.
asserted
that → seem → Commons
But when former mayor John Tory resigned amid a personal scandal in 2023, Ms. Chow took another stab and won the mayor’s chair in a special by-election.
asserted
Chow → resign → election
If all goes well, she will hold it until 2030.
asserted
she → go → 2030
In this moment of triumph, she is bound to see a vindication of the record she has established at city hall and the program she had laid out for the future.
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she → bind → future
Unlike most government leaders, mayors are elected directly.
asserted
mayors → elect → leaders
With parties prohibited at the city level, voters mark their ballots for the candidate alone.
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voters → prohibit → candidate
Armed with that legitimacy – along with the “strong mayor” powers the provincial government has granted to cities – Ms. Chow has a solid mandate and considerable power.
asserted
Chow → arm → mandate
In her first term, she managed to create a school snack program, open all libraries seven days a week and strike a cost-sharing deal with Premier Doug Ford worth billions of dollars to the city.
asserted
she → manage → city
In this term, she plans to fight for tenants’ rights, create more affordable rental housing, keep transit fares frozen and invest in youth programs.
asserted
fares → plan → programs
But it would be a mistake to interpret Monday’s vote as a rubber stamp for the status quo.
asserted
it → interpret → quo
Mr. Bradford gave Ms. Chow a real run for her money.
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Bradford → give → money
He told voters that Toronto was crying out for change, and that message clearly struck a chord, bringing him close to even with a well-known sitting mayor in late-campaign opinion polls.
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message → tell → polls
Voters will not be content with a steady-as-she-goes approach to governing Canada’s leading metropolis.
asserted
she → go → metropolis
Traffic congestion is a genuine problem, frustrating to locals and mind-boggling for visitors.
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congestion → boggle → visitors
It costs Torontonians countless hours of wasted time and the city many billions of dollars in lost productivity.
asserted
It → cost → productivity
Though Toronto is safe by North American standards, with crime rates down in several categories, the plague of mental illness, drug addiction and homelessness that afflicts so many cities is painfully visible.
asserted
that → afflict → cities
Ms. Chow managed to get most of the tent encampments out of municipal parks, but city dwellers continue to witness scenes of disorder and despair on sidewalks and in transit stations.
asserted
dwellers → manage → stations
Ms. Chow has put lots of resources into making sure Toronto’s most disadvantaged residents get the help they deserve, but little into making sure that the city’s economic engine keeps humming.
asserted
engine → put → help
Rather than coast on her victory, Ms. Chow would be well advised to reach out to Toronto’s business community about how to feed the goose that lays the golden eggs, and focus more on issues of simple urban maintenance such as cleanliness and conduct in public spaces.
asserted
that → coast → spaces
Toronto is a thriving city, more stuck than broken, as Mr. Bradford put it.
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Bradford → thrive → it
But looking around at other cities of its size, it is hard to avoid the feeling that it is falling behind.
asserted
it → look → feeling
Its transit network is nowhere near as good as you would find in many major European or East Asian cities.
asserted
you → find → cities
While she is hard working, decent and sincere, Ms. Chow sometimes seems to lack the ambition that the leader of a dynamic city like Toronto needs.
asserted
leader → work → Toronto
The wind of change is blowing in Toronto, too.
asserted
wind → blow → Toronto
Ms. Chow would be unwise to ignore it.
asserted
Chow → ignore → it
The Aporia
