TORONTO - Polls are set to open today as Toronto voters elect the next mayor of Canada's most populous city, capping a hotly contested byelection campaign to replace scandal-departed John Tory.
It's the second mayoral election for the city since October, after Tory admitted to having an affair with a staffer and resigned just a few months into his third term.
A record 102 candidates lined up to replace him, with roughly a half-dozen names rising to the top of the field over the course of the 12-week campaign.
Former NDP parliamentarian and past city councillor Olivia Chow emerged as the frontrunner as she vies to reverse her electoral fortunes after finishing third in the 2014 mayoral race.
Ex-police chief Mark Saunders and former deputy mayor Ana Bailão have pitched themselves as the best placed candidates to challenge Chow's lead in the polls.
Rounding out the list of high-profile candidates are former Liberal provincial education minister Mitzie Hunter, city councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford, and right-wing columnist Anthony Furey.