Olivia Chow officially takes office as Toronto's 66th mayor
CBC
Olivia Chow officially took office as mayor of Toronto Wednesday, becoming the third woman and first racialized person to lead Canada's most populous city.
Chow was sworn in at city hall this morning, vaulting a progressive into Toronto's top job for the first time in over a decade.
You can watch the entire ceremony live in the player above.
The ceremony opened with a long round of applause and cheers from a crowd that filled city council chambers. Chow entered the room in her signature yellow jacket following a trio of Indigenous drummers.
Actor Jean Yoon emceed and the morning featured Indigenous teachings, a musical performance and a reading by the poet laureate.
The 66-year-old Chow, a former NDP MP and longtime city councillor, won last month's byelection to replace John Tory, sealing her political comeback after she came a distant third in the 2014 mayoral election.
In attendance at city hall Wednesday were former Toronto mayors Art Eggleton, Barbara Hall, David Crombie and John Sewell, as well as current NDP MPPs Marit Stiles, Peter Tabuns and Chris Glover. Many of the city's councillors were also there.
Chow campaigned on a platform to build what she called a more caring and affordable city, pledging to get local government back into the business of building social housing and to spend millions to acquire and preserve affordable units.
After almost a decade out of the political spotlight, she takes office at a time when Toronto is facing pressing issues, including a $1-billion shortfall in this year's budget, driven in large part by decreasing transit revenues and increased shelter costs.
Chow has said she would call a special meeting of the Executive Committee in August to discuss pressing matters, including the city's long-term financial plan.
Since the June 26 byelection, Chow has been meeting with city administration, finalizing her team and holding transition engagements with civil service and non-profits on issues including housing and community crisis response.
The city's housing crisis and the record levels of people experiencing homelessness are set to be a test during Chow's term. Adding to a sense of urgency, the city has been deadlocked with the federal government over a request to provide more money to help house asylum seekers, with the city recently instituting a policy of turning away those applicants from at-capacity shelters toward federal programs,
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