“Today we commit ourselves to the hard work ahead,” proclaimed Olivia Chow to an enthusiastic crowd outside Toronto’s city hall during her Mayoral Declaration of Office Ceremony. Chow officially became the city’s 66th mayor on July 12 after winning a heavily contested byelection. She ran her campaign promising change and progressive values — a message that clearly resonated with Torontonians after more than 12 years of conservative-leaning leadership. Voter turnout for the election last fall was an abysmal 29 per cent despite the often-reported general consensus among residents that Toronto is in disarray. Chow plans to address these issues and says her top priorities are affordability, transit, and city-run services. She says her goal is to build a Toronto “where everyone belongs.” “Together, our city can find its feet again, find our swagger, give ourselves the permission to believe that together we can move the needle of progress for the people of Toronto.” Sami Saadat says he hopes Chow delivers on her promises. Saadat’s first name has been changed upon request as he is a government employee and fears backlash for speaking out. Saadat was born in Bangladesh and lived in Montreal for nine years before returning to Toronto. He has lived in Scarborough for the last 11 years and says his biggest concern is livability. I am optimistic,” Saadat said after learning Chow had won the election. “We all benefit from a progressive mayor with progressive values and I don’t think she’s a run-of-the-mill centrist candidate.” Still, he cautioned against being too optimistic because of the scale of the challenges and potential barriers the new mayor faces. “There’s this idea that Toronto is full of liberals, to people outside the city, but Toronto has more of a conservative lean than people think,” he said. “We’re seeing politicians and institutions move to the right so it’s hard to jump to optimism.” Chow and Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford have already exchanged barbs during media appearances over the past month, and the pair are not natural political allies. For example, the two disagree about the province’s plan to move the Ontario Science Centre from its current location in North York to become part of the Ontario Place revitalization project. The province plans to build a large water park and spa after signing a 95-year lease lease with the Austrian company, Therme. The science centre would be rebuilt on the same land. Chow has reiterated her position that the site should remain open to the public as a park rather than be privatized. Some of the land the province intends to redevelop is owned by the City and Chow has said she’s willing to sue the province over the dispute. “I think the province is going to be uncooperative with her and I think that will make it hard for her to get things done, so that’s where the apprehension comes from,” Saadat said. Chow called out both Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the inauguration ceremony and requested that they commit to helping Toronto recover financially after being hit hard by the pandemic. She emphasized the city’s social and economic importance to Canada and Ontario and urged the leaders to meet to discuss a deal that would make Toronto financially self-sufficient and stable. High school teacher Nittya Rizza thinks government cooperation will be crucial in the coming years. Rizza moved to Etobicoke from Scarborough last fall and she is cautiously optimistic about Chow’s tenure as mayor, and her plans for the future of Toronto. “The general public often doesn’t have much confidence that left-wing leaders will be able to finance their big promises,” Rizza said. “This is where I think teamwork within our government is so important to be able to get things done.” She said proposals Chow and Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow put forward during the election campaign to help the city generate revenue are positive. “Things like stabilizing the police budget and a surface parking lot levy — creative solutions to paying the deficit that don’t place the entirety of the burden on taxpayers,” Rizza said. “It’s especially important that in an effort to protect our taxpayers, our leadership makes corporations pay their fair share.” Chow takes office with the city facing a daunting $1 billion deficit and a host of difficult issues. During the campaign Chow discussed the possibility of increasing property taxes in order to help pay for some of the city services, such as libraries, road repair and the public transit system (TTC). The TTC is a major issue Chow faces. A number of high-profile and violent incidents have happened on trains, buses and inside subway stations in the last 18 months.