Former MP Chris Alexander officially entering Toronto’s mayoral race

A former Conservative Member of Parliament is entering the already crowded race to become Toronto’s next mayor.

Campaign spokesperson Wilf Dinnick said Chris Alexander will register at city hall Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

On Tuesday evening, Alexander’s candidacy website officially launched moments after he confirmed he is running to the Toronto Star.

On his website, Alexander said his priorities include budgeting, congestion and zoning, ensuring public transit is more timely and runs faster, making rental housing more accessible to youth and immigrants, improving walkability in the city and being more ambitious about Toronto’s goals.

“I’m running because Toronto has been standing still for three years,” he says on his website. “A city with this much talent, strength and potential should not be under-performing. We need to work together to make Toronto better – the best it can be.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Alexander himself confirmed to CBC News he was interested in the contest, but stopped short of declaring his candidacy.

“I’m still giving it serious consideration, but I’m not yet fully there,” he told CBC News in an email.

Alexander says on his website he grew up in the city and is now raising his own three children within Toronto.

“I spent most of my career in public service – from Afghanistan to the federal cabinet table in Ottawa,” he said. “Now I want to put that experience at the service of my city.”

He was born on Sept. 9, 1968, as the only child of a high school physical education teacher from Huntsville, Ont., and a lawyer born in Montreal and raised in Toronto and Oakville, according to his campaign’s website.

He attended Oriole Park Public School from junior kindergarten to Grade 13, during which he participated in Model UN, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from McGill University. Alexander went on to study for a Master of Arts in philosophy and economics at Oxford University.

He joined Canada’s Department of External Affairs as a foreign service officer in 1991, according to the website. Alexander also wrote a book in 2010 about his six years in Kabul.

Controversy over barbaric cultural practices bill

Alexander served as MP for the Ajax—Pickering riding from 2011 to 2015. He was also the federal immigration minister from 2013 to 2015, under Stephen Harper’s government. He also drew headlines for his barbaric cultural practices bill in 2014, which sought to address so-called honour killings, child marriages and polygamy.

Ultimately, the Conservatives lost the 2015 election and Alexander was unable to secure his riding.

In a post on social media platform X on Monday, not-for-profit community organization A Better City (ABC) Toronto said Alexander has “no path to victory.”

“Toronto doesn’t need distractions,” ABC Toronto board member Kelly Aizicowitz said. “Toronto deserves a campaign about safer streets, affordability, housing and traffic.”

“This isn’t a three-way race. It’s a gift to Olivia Chow,” ABC Toronto wrote.

Prior to entering politics, Alexander worked in Canada’s foreign service and served as the first resident Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan between 2003 and 2005.

In 2024, Alexander accused a veteran Ottawa Citizen journalist of acting as a Russian agent between 1984 and 1990. The reporter, David Pugliese refuted the claims, saying they put his family at risk.

The crowded race to be Toronto’s next mayor already features 32 candidates.

Current mayor Olivia Chow is seeking re-election, with Coun. Brad Bradford (Beaches—East-York) her main rival at this point, early polling shows.

You can find a full list of candidates vying to be Toronto’s next mayor on the city’s website.