The 2003 Toronto municipal election was held on 10 November 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees. David Miller was elected mayor (Results of 2003 Toronto election). Most municipalities in the Province of Ontario held elections on this date. See also 2003 Ontario municipal elections.

Mayoral election

Incumbent Toronto mayor Mel Lastman chose not to run for re-election. A large number of candidates ran for the position of mayor, but five main candidates emerged. The campaign began with Barbara Hall far in the lead. She had wide name recognition and attracted moderate support from across Toronto. She also had close links with the newly elected Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty. John Nunziata was in a distant second, polling around 9% at the best, due to his past experience as a federal MP. John Tory and David Miller were closely tied for an even more distant third. Around September, Hall began to lose support when it became apparent that she lacked a campaign message, sticking mainly to her "love for Toronto" and arguing that she could get a "new deal" with the provincial Liberals. Miller was attacked by all candidates for musing about tolls on roads leading into Toronto, but he dropped the proposal before it could do much harm. Miller's next message about banning the island airport bridge distinguished himself from the other candidates and he eventually vaulted into first place, to the surprise of many. Tory's support also began to grow steadily as Hall's eroded and he moved into a close second. At one point, Hall, Tory, and Miller each polled similar numbers, making it a three-way contest. As Hall's support dropped, the race had become essentially a two-way contest between Tory and Miller. As the race narrowed to a close, the two front-runners ran a respectful campaign without many negative partisan attacks. Tory was applauded when he appeared at Miller's rally to congratulate the latter's victory. John Nunziata, long not considered a contender, dropped a bombshell on the media when it he announced that members of a rival camp offered him $150,000 and the Deputy Mayor's position to drop out of the race. Nunziata refused to release specifics, although the media speculated that it was Tory's campaign, which was subsequently cleared by the police investigation. Tory in fact received a boost in the polls for his promise to drop out of the election if any wrong-doing had been discovered, while Nunziata was accused of mischief and smearing his opponent with unsubstantiated claim. As the campaign continued, Nunziata's reputation also suffered when he was alleged to have bullied councillors who withdrew their support from him. He was also dogged by his "flip-flopping" on controversial positions that he had taken as a federal MP, such as denying his private member's bill to ban abortion. Nunziata garnered only 5% of the vote and analysts believed that he had also damaged his credibility and future political prospects. Despite this being his first election as a candidate, John Tory was credited with running a respectable campaign which provided wide recognition. He later became leader of the Ontario PC Party (2004–09), and in a return to municipal politics became Mayor of Toronto in 2014. Although it was known from the start that Tom Jakobek did not stand a chance of winning, he still continued in the election. On 17 July 2006, The Toronto Star reported that there were more than 300,000 people on the voting list who may – or may not – have been legally allowed to vote. Since Miller beat Tory by only 36,000 votes, with the results it would only take a small portion of the unconfirmed list to affect an election outcome. Toronto Star article

Results

Information on minor candidates

City council

Most incumbent city councillors were re-elected. A prominent exception was Anne Johnston, the longest-serving member of city council. She lost her seat in Ward 16, apparently because of her approval of a controversial residential tower development in an adjoining ward. The council elections saw one of the highest rates of turnover in recent history. While only four incumbents lost their seats, many long standing councillors decided not to run for re-election. Of the 44 city councillors, 14 are newcomers. The election saw the council become more leftist, which should aid mayor Miller.

Ward 1 – Etobicoke North

Ward 2 – Etobicoke North

Ward 3 – Etobicoke Centre

Ward 4 – Etobicoke Centre

Ward 5 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Ward 6 – Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Ward 7 – York West

Ward 8 – York West

Ward 9 – York Centre

Ward 10 – York Centre

Ward 11 – York South-Weston

Ward 12 – York South-Weston

Ward 13 – Parkdale-High Park

Ward 14 – Parkdale-High Park

Ward 15 – Eglinton-Lawrence

Ward 16 – Eglinton-Lawrence

Ward 17 – Davenport

Ward 18 – Davenport

Ward 19 – Trinity-Spadina

Ward 20 – Trinity-Spadina

Ward 21 – St. Paul's

Ward 22 – St. Paul's

Ward 23 – Willowdale

Ward 24 – Willowdale

Ward 25 – Don Valley West

Ward 26 – Don Valley West

Ward 27 – Toronto Centre

Ward 28 – Toronto Centre

Ward 29 – Broadview-Greenwood

Ward 30 – Broadview-Greenwood

Ward 31 – Beaches-East York

Ward 32 – Beaches-East York

Ward 33 – Don Valley East

Ward 34 – Don Valley East

Ward 35 – Scarborough Southwest

Ward 36 – Scarborough Southwest

Ward 37 – Scarborough Centre

Ward 38 – Scarborough Centre

Ward 39 – Scarborough-Agincourt

Ward 40 – Scarborough-Agincourt

Ward 41 – Scarborough-Rouge River

Ward 42 – Scarborough-Rouge River

Ward 43 – Scarborough East

Ward 44 – Scarborough East