Toronto's Advanced Voting Numbers Are Out & Fewer People Seem To Care About The Election

Eight days of advanced voting for the 2022 municipal election in Toronto don't seem like they helped to generate any extra buzz leading up to voting day.

The city's newly released numbers show 115,911 voters cast their ballot between October 7 and October 14.

That tally represents a 6.75% drop from the last election in 2018 and a nearly 30% decline from 2014, an election with record turnout where John Tory replaced incumbent Rob Ford.

Voter turnout in municipal elections is historically low — in 2018, only 41% of eligible voters in Toronto cast a ballot. That's just slightly above the provincial average of 38%.

Some might say "you can't complain if you don't vote" but neither that nor some of the stories surrounding this election appear to be enough to get people to care about voting.

There are 31 candidates running for mayor, but by all accounts, it doesn't seem like any of them have a serious chance of giving John Tory a run for his money.

A final of two mayoral debates will take place on October 17, hosted by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, at 2 p.m. The debate will be streamed live online.

It will feature Tory and Gil Penalosa, along with other candidates Chloe Brown, Sarah Climenhaga, and Stephen Punwasi.

On the council side of things, seven of 25 councillors have decided not to seek re-election, guaranteeing some new faces at City Hall.

You can find all the voting information you need on the city's website.

Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., October 24.