The 2018 Toronto municipal election operated in two distinct phases. Phase 1 (47-ward model) was approved on appeal by the Ontario Municipal Board and was in effect from the beginning of the election through to August 14, 2018.
The province of Ontario ordered a change midway through the election cycle initiating a second phase (25-ward model) which ran from August through to election day. Phase 1 candidacy and campaign finance remain a matter of official public record, however it is the results of phase 2 that decided the final composition of the 2018 -2022 Toronto City Council.
Councillor and school trustee races which relied on ward boundaries as a condition were substantially affected. Mayoral races which covered the city as a whole were administrated differently in terms of polling methods, but were otherwise less affected.
History Toronto municipal ward boundaries were significantly modified in 2018, passing through three models (44-ward, 47-ward, and 25-ward). Ultimately, for the purposes of administering the 2018 election, the 25-ward structure was used and later upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2021.
From 2014 to 2017, the City of Toronto engaged in a ward boundary review evaluating the city's previous 44-ward model.
Based on this, and in preparation for the 2018 municipal election, the City of Toronto added 3 new wards to create a 47-ward model. This model was in effect at the opening of the 2018 municipal election.
The 2018 Toronto municipal election ran from May 1, 2018, to October 22, 2018, and while underway the provincial government introduced the Better Local Government Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 11 - Bill 5. The act was assented to on August 14, 2018.
The immediate effect of this act was to eliminate all previous ward models, and replace them with a 25-ward model designed to align with the provincial and federal ridings boundaries in effect at that time.
The timing of the boundary change was controversial, and the City of Toronto sued the province contesting the provisions' constitutionality. In the absence of an injunction, and with the pending threat of the province invoking the notwithstanding clause which would defeat any constitutional challenge, the election continued under the 25-ward model.
The nomination period originally scheduled to close on July 27, 2018, was extended to September 14, 2018. This allowed new candidates to run, and existing candidates to either withdraw or to reassign their candidacy to a different constituency.
In a judgment rendered October 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of the provisions, and the 25-ward model remained in effect for the 2022 Toronto municipal election.
Official ward materials (2018 47-ward model)
Ward NumberCensus Data47-Ward Model Map1 Ward 01 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 1 Map2 Ward 02 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 2 Map3 Ward 03 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 3 Map4 Ward 04 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 4 Map5 Ward 05 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 5 Map6 Ward 06 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 6 Map7 Ward 07 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 7 Map8 Ward 08 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 8 Map9 Ward 09 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 9 Map10 Ward 10 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 10 Map11 Ward 11 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 11 Map12 Ward 12 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 12 Map13 Ward 13 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 13 Map14 Ward 14 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 14 Map15 Ward 15 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 15 Map16 Ward 16 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 16 Map17 Ward 17 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 17 Map18 Ward 18 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 18 Map19 Ward 19 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 19 Map20 Ward 20 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 20 Map21 Ward 21 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 21 Map22 Ward 22 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 22 Map23 Ward 23 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 23 Map24 Ward 24 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 24 Map25 Ward 25 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 25 Map26 Ward 26 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 26 Map27 Ward 27 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 27 Map28 Ward 28 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 28 Map29 Ward 29 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 29 Map30 Ward 30 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 30 Map31 Ward 31 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 31 Map32 Ward 32 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 32 Map33 Ward 33 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 33 Map34 Ward 34 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 34 Map35 Ward 35 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 35 Map36 Ward 36 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 36 Map37 Ward 37 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 37 Map38 Ward 38 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 38 Map39 Ward 39 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 39 Map40 Ward 40 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 40 Map41 Ward 41 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 41 Map42 Ward 42 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 42 Map43 Ward 43 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 43 Map44 Ward 44 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 44 Map45 Ward 45 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 45 Map46 Ward 46 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 46 Map47 Ward 47 Profile (47-Wards) - 2016 CensusWard 47 Map
References