2003 Toronto election
The 2003 Toronto election was held on November 10, 2003. David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election).
Mayoral Contest
Current Toronto mayor Mel Lastman chose not to run in this election. A large number of candidates ran for the position of mayor, but four main candidates emerged.
- Barbara Hall is a past mayor of Toronto who has the support of many of the city's Liberals. She campaigned on a moderate policy of outreach to minorities.
- John Nunziata, a former Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party of Canada, was expelled from the party because of his opposition to his party's continuation of the Goods and Services Tax, something that the party had promised to abolish as part of its election platform. He ran a right-wing campaign for mayor of Toronto, advocating stiff penalties against the homeless and a strong focus on law and order.
- John Tory a noted businessman Tory, ran a centre right campaign promising to hire more police, fine panhandlers, and incinerate Toronto's garbage. He also promised rigorous fiscal discipline at city hall.
- David Miller, the most left wing of the major candidates, is closely associated with unions and the New Democratic Party. He had long served as a city counselor. His main cause was halting the expansion of the Toronto Islands Airport.
Hall quickly began to hemorrhage support, however. Miller's message about the island airport resonated with many voters and he vaulted into first place, to the surprise of many. Tory's support also began to grow steadily as Hall's eroded. The race had become essentially two way contest between Tory and Miller. Miller was attacked by all candidates for musing about tolls on roads leading into Toronto, but this did not seem to reduce his support.
John Nunziata, long not considered a plausible contender, dropped a bombshell on the media when it he announced that members of Tory's camp offered him $150,000 and the Deputy Mayor's position if he were to drop out of the race. Nunziata refused to release specifics, however, and a police investigation found no wrongdoing. Tory in fact received a boost in the polls for his promise to drop out of the campaign if any wrong-doing had been discovered.
Tom Jacobek gathered much media attention at the start, and was invited to various debates, but was quickly distanced from the front-runner race when the vote neared.
