He was minus one. Registration was about to close when the last candidate ran for mayor of Toronto, Canada, on Friday, May 12. Arriving on rollerblades with a dog on a leash, Toby Heaps filled out the application form, writing his name. But he wasn't the real candidate but... his dog, Molly, 7 years old, he told journalists on the spot.
Toronto's Mayoral campaign is going to the dogs... literally.
the 101st and final entrant, is Molly. She arrived with her rollerblading owner at 1:59PM, just one minute before the nominations closed.
I'll have more on this pups political asperations, coming up on @CityNewsTO pic.twitter.com/KwTgGfIOeb
— Momin Qureshi (@MominYQureshi) May 12, 2023
Banned from officially running because of "anthropocentric" election rules, the seven-year-old lifeguard has "big ideas that she will introduce into this campaign," her owner told the local Toronto Star. Starting with a law obliging any mayor who does not keep his promises to pick up poop for a year, "including his own".
"An excellent team of advisors"
Molly has assembled around her an "excellent team of advisors," her master also told the Canadian newspaper, and intends to apply a policy of "common sense" on topics such as public transit and affordable housing. One of his big concerns is the city's use of road salt in winter, which hurts his legs during his walks.
With Molly as mayor, "you'll have a much more civilized speech" at city council meetings, Toby Heaps said, given that "when you have an animal in the room, people are more human."
A total of 102 candidates have applied for the next Toronto municipal election in June. The previous mayor, John Tory, resigned in February after admitting to having an extramarital affair with a former employee.