// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Progress Toronto say to its friend? You're progressing nicely.
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Progress Toronto is a Canadian progressive advocacy organization involved in municipal politics in Toronto, Ontario. It campaigns on issues including affordable housing, public transit and municipal services, and organizes volunteers to canvass, telephone voters and participate in other forms of community and electoral organizing.[1]
Progress Toronto supports selected candidates for Toronto City Council and the Toronto District School Board, describing its endorsed candidates as "Progressive Champions". During elections, its volunteers distribute literature, canvass door-to-door, telephone voters and encourage supporters to vote.[2] It also conducts issue-based campaigns intended to influence decisions at Toronto City Hall.
History and electoral activity
[edit]Progress Toronto was founded in 2018 following the victories of Rob Ford and John Tory in the 2010 and 2014 Toronto mayoral elections. It was established to help elect progressive candidates in Toronto's officially non-partisan municipal elections.[3]
The organization participated in the 2018 Toronto municipal election by endorsing candidates in selected council races. Its results in that election as limited, in part because the Ontario government's decision to reduce the size of Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 seats eliminated several races involving progressive challengers.[3] Municipal endorsements received increased attention during the campaign because Toronto elections do not formally operate under a political-party system.[4] Several candidates supported by Progress Toronto were also among those endorsed by the editorial board of the Toronto Star.[5]
Progress Toronto continued supporting candidates during the 2022 Toronto municipal election. In the 2023 Toronto mayoral by-election, it supported Olivia Chow in her successful mayoral campaign. Its former executive director, Michal Hay, subsequently became Chow's chief of staff.[3]
Although Toronto municipal candidates do not formally represent political parties, Progress Toronto and the centre-right organization ABC Toronto have been described as parties "in all but name". Both organizations recruit and train volunteers, identify preferred candidates and promote shared policy priorities.[3] For election-law purposes, however, they operate as third-party advertisers and cannot coordinate campaign fundraising or expenditures with candidates.[3]
CBC News described Progress Toronto as an organization representing the left of Toronto municipal politics.[6] Progress Toronto and ABC Toronto have been described as informal "shadow parties" that sought to influence municipal elections through fundraising, volunteer mobilization and coordinated campaigning.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Shohfi, Jessie (March 8, 2023). "Past Lives: Emily Johnson". Columbia University School of the Arts. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Your Progressive Champions". Progress Toronto. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 McGrath, John Michael (May 6, 2026). "ANALYSIS: Toronto needs political parties". TVO Today. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Ward, Katherine (October 15, 2018). "Council seat endorsements play strategic role in run-up to 2018 municipal election". Global News. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "These are the city builders that Toronto needs". Toronto Star. October 15, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ MacMillan, Sarah (January 28, 2025). "The left has Progress Toronto. A new advocacy group hopes to fill gap on centre-right". CBC News. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Rinaldi, Luc (September 9, 2026). "The 'Shadow Parties' That Could Swing the Toronto Election". The Local. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
External links
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