Toronto has had 66 different mayors since the city was incorporated in 1834, according to the City of Toronto’s own chronological list. The list has 73 entries because seven people served more than one term. William Lyon Mackenzie was the first, and Olivia Chow, who took office on July 12, 2023, is the 66th mayor and the fifth since the 1998 amalgamation.
Mayors and councillors are chosen in municipal elections that Ontario holds every four years. The 2026 election was scheduled for Monday, October 26, 2026, and opens the 2026 to 2030 council term. This page explains who the mayors were, how the office changed hands in 2023, who may vote, and where official results are published.
Toronto’s mayors from 1834 to the present
The City of Toronto publishes a “Mayor, Reeve & Chairman” page that begins with the incorporation of the City in 1834. The page gives year ranges, not exact dates, so neighbouring ranges overlap in the year of a handover (for example 1998 to 2004 and 2004 to 2010). The table below repeats a selection of entries from the City’s list. The full list of 73 entries is on the City’s page.
| Years (as listed) | Mayor |
|---|---|
| 1834 | William Lyon Mackenzie |
| 1835 | Robert Baldwin Sullivan |
| 1955 to 1962 | Nathan Phillips |
| 1973 to 1978 | David Crombie |
| 1981 to 1991 | Arthur Eggleton |
| 1992 to 1994 | June Rowlands |
| 1995 to 1997 | Barbara Hall |
| 1998 to 2004 | Mel Lastman |
| 2004 to 2010 | David Miller |
| 2010 to 2014 | Rob Ford |
| 2014 to 2023 | John Tory |
| 2023 to present | Olivia Chow |
Mackenzie, the first name on the list, later led the 1837 uprising. His career is covered in William Lyon Mackenzie, and the rebellion in The 1837 Rebellion in Toronto.
Seven people who served twice
The 73 entries belong to 66 individuals because the City marks seven people with more than one entry: Samuel McBride (1928 to 1929, and 1936), Robert J. Fleming (1892 to 1893, and 1896 to 1897), Alexander Manning (1873, and 1885), Francis H. Medcalf (1864 to 1866, and 1874 to 1875), John George Bowes (1851 to 1853, and 1861 to 1863), George Gurnett (1837, and 1848 to 1850), and William Henry Boulton (1845 to 1847, and 1858). The list also shows two mayors in the same year in 1858, 1963, and 1978. The City’s page does not explain these overlaps, so this article does not either.
Amalgamation in 1998
The City publishes a second list, “City of Toronto Councillors Since 1998”, which marks 1998 as the start of the current council. In the mayors list, Mel Lastman appears for 1998 to 2004. The City counts Olivia Chow as the fifth mayor since amalgamation, which matches the five names from Lastman to Chow in the table: Lastman, Miller, Ford, Tory, and Chow. The earlier Metropolitan Toronto federation is described in Metropolitan Toronto in 1954.
The 2023 mayoral by-election
A by-election fills a vacancy between regular elections. Toronto held one for mayor on Monday, June 26, 2023. The City Clerk, John D. Elvidge, certified the official results on June 28 and declared Olivia Chow mayor-elect. A total of 725,333 ballots were cast, according to the City’s news release. Chow made the Declaration of Office on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at a ceremony in the Council Chamber of City Hall, which began with an Indigenous Welcoming Ceremony led by Elder Garry Sault and Grandmother Tina Sault of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
The City’s list gives John Tory’s service as 2014 to 2023. The City pages consulted for this article do not give vote counts for individual candidates. Those are in the official Declaration of Results on the Toronto Elections website.
Who can vote in a Toronto municipal election
For the 2026 election, the City states that an eligible voter must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and either a resident of Toronto or a non-resident who, or whose spouse, owns or rents property in the city, and must not be prohibited from voting under any law. A person may vote only once, regardless of how many properties they own or rent in Toronto, and must vote in the ward where they live. The City also lists who cannot vote on voting day: people serving a sentence in a penal or correctional institution, corporations, people acting as executor or trustee in a representative capacity (except as a voting proxy), and people convicted of a corrupt practice described in section 90(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.
Voters choose a mayor and a councillor and, if eligible, a school board trustee. School board ward boundaries are often different from City ward boundaries.
The 2026 election in numbers
The City’s fact sheet of September 22, 2026, gave these figures for the 2026 election. Toronto has 25 wards, and each elects one councillor.
- About 2.14 million eligible voters.
- 361 certified candidates: 53 for mayor, 190 for councillor, and 118 for school board trustee.
- Election day on Monday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with more than 1,350 election day voting places.
- Advance voting from Tuesday, October 6, to Sunday, October 11, at 50 voting places, two in each of the 25 wards.
Voting hours, locations, and identification rules change from one election to the next, so voters should check the City’s Elections page rather than rely on this summary. Official results and later reports are published by Toronto Elections.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the first mayor of Toronto?
William Lyon Mackenzie, listed for 1834 on the City of Toronto’s chronological list of mayors. The City of Toronto was incorporated in 1834.
How many mayors has Toronto had?
The City’s list has 73 entries and 66 distinct people, because seven people served at two separate times. The City’s news release of July 12, 2023, calls Olivia Chow the 66th mayor.
How often are municipal elections held in Toronto?
Every four years. The Ontario government’s 2026 voters’ guide states that voters across Ontario elect municipal councillors and school board trustees every four years, and that the guide applies to the 2026 to 2030 term.
Who took over as mayor in 2023?
Olivia Chow won the by-election held on June 26, 2023, and took office on July 12, 2023. The City’s list gives John Tory’s service as 2014 to 2023.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- City of Toronto, “Mayor, Reeve & Chairman”: chronological list of Mayors of Toronto
- City of Toronto, “Mayors, Councillors, Reeves & Chairmen” (landing page)
- City of Toronto, “Toronto City Clerk certifies by-election for mayor results and declares Olivia Chow as Mayor-elect,” news release, June 28, 2023
- City of Toronto, “Mayor Olivia Chow takes office as Mayor of Toronto,” news release, July 12, 2023
- City of Toronto, “Who Can Vote”
- City of Toronto, “Fact Sheet, 2026 Toronto Municipal Election,” September 22, 2026
- Government of Ontario, “2026 voters’ guide: Ontario municipal council and school board elections”
- City of Toronto, Elections (landing page)
Related reading
- Old City Hall: history of the building
- Toronto City Hall, opened in 1965
- Metropolitan Toronto, created in 1954
- Toronto compared with other Canadian cities
- Overview of Toronto’s history
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 25). Toronto Mayors and How Municipal Elections Work. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-mayors-and-municipal-elections
MLA: “Toronto Mayors and How Municipal Elections Work.” History of Toronto, 25 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-mayors-and-municipal-elections. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Mayors and How Municipal Elections Work.” Last modified October 25, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-mayors-and-municipal-elections.
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