Seven New Voices in a Chamber That Remembers the Old Ones

Toronto's city council chamber will feel different this term. Not wholly unfamiliar—nineteen of twenty-five councillors are returning—but changed in the way a room changes when new voices enter it. Seven new faces will take their seats following Monday's election, some having toppled incumbents who had held their wards for decades, others stepping into seats left open by retirement or ambition .

In Parkdale-High Park, Diana Chan McNally, a progressive housing advocate and crisis worker, replaces Gord Perks, who represented the ward for twenty years before announcing he would not seek re-election. McNally won decisively, receiving 20,314 votes . "I think what the city really wants is a progressive vision," she told CBC Radio's Metro Morning. "We want a city that's caring" .

The most dramatic shift came in York South-Weston, where Chiara Padovani defeated Frances Nunziata, the longest-serving member of council, who had held the seat since 1997. Padovani, a tenant rights advocate and social worker, had lost to Nunziata by just 94 votes in 2022. This time, she won by a landslide, while Nunziata finished third . "It took three times, three attempts to get here," Padovani said, "but it's because each time we were building" .

Mike Layton is returning to council after a four-year absence, reclaiming University-Rosedale, the ward he represented from 2010 to 2022. The seat had been left open when incumbent Dianne Saxe switched wards to run in Toronto-Danforth. Layton, the son of the late Jack Layton and stepson of Mayor Olivia Chow, won with nearly 50 percent of the vote .

In Toronto Centre, Curran Stikuts, former advocacy director at The 519 community center, defeated incumbent Chris Moise. Stikuts received the endorsement of MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, who had backed Moise in the previous election . Sara Ehrhardt, a former school board trustee, took Toronto-Danforth, winning nearly 50 percent of the vote in a race that included former councillor Mary Fragedakis and Saxe .

Two former Liberal MPs also join the chamber. Nate Erskine-Smith, who represented Beaches-East York federally for nearly a decade, won the same ward municipally, replacing mayoral candidate Brad Bradford. Shaun Chen, who stepped down from federal politics earlier this year citing injuries from a 2025 car accident, defeated incumbent Jamaal Myers in Scarborough North .

The results remain unofficial until certified by the city clerk. What is certain is the shape of the change: a council that retains its core but gains new advocates, new former parliamentarians, and at least one returning name. The work ahead—housing, transit, the slow grind of municipal governance—will be shaped by who sits in those seats and what they bring with them.

The images in this article are AI-generated and are not photographs of the individuals or events described.

Sources: CBC News, NOW Toronto, CityNews Toronto