Toronto mayoral candidate Chris Alexander has withdrawn from the election race, surprising many just weeks before the upcoming vote.
Alexander’s decision was made public a mere thirty minutes before the scheduled start of advance voting in the city. In his statement, he expressed his realization that the path to success for his campaign was not as promising as he had hoped. “We believed we could catch up quickly, but it just didn’t materialize,” Alexander shared. He emphasized the importance of allowing Torontonians to support a candidate committed to seeing the campaign through until the end, hence his choice to step aside.
Recent surveys have consistently placed Alexander in a distant third position behind incumbent Olivia Chow and Councillor Brad Bradford. Notably, he stated that he would not be endorsing any of the remaining candidates but urged voters to carefully review each platform to determine the best fit for themselves.
Despite initially being slated to participate in upcoming debates, Alexander’s departure means that the televised debate at Toronto Metropolitan University will now solely feature Chow and Bradford. The event will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on CityNews 24/7.
Alexander previously held political office as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Ajax-Pickering and served in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada.
Advance voting for the mayoral election is open from 10 a.m. until Oct. 11, with the official election day scheduled for Oct. 26.
