Image copyright Demetrios Papademetriou, 2012 Image caption When the federal Liberals were last in power, they had control of Toronto city hall.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has put the spotlight on an issue to do with his fellow party leaders – the environment.
Mr Tory told Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Green Party leader Elizabeth May at an all-party meeting in Toronto this weekend what the city of 2.8 million needed from them.
He asked them to rethink “not sustainable” infrastructure and protect the “cleanest air” for everyone.
And he urged the country’s federal leaders to keep them in check over trade.
Mr Tory is promising a plebiscite on 26 October if his party wins power, arguing Canada needs to embrace more sustainable development.
Image copyright Demetrios Papademetriou, 2012 Image caption Green Party leader Elizabeth May will appear in London next week to argue for the kind of change in the green economy that Mr Tory wants.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May will join a conference in London next week to make the case for change in the economy to provide work for the “vulnerable”.
Mr Trudeau and the Green Party leader will be among those speaking at the event, sponsored by Manifesto Club and think-tank Open Mic, according to the BBC’s environment editor, Richard Blackington.
And in a video message for the conference, Mr May will say “we have to look to the future rather than the past”.
Unspecified progress
Among the attendees in Toronto were three Conservative MP’s from Alberta, who are campaigning in the province in an effort to win a seat – they are Brandon Sutter, Harold Albrecht and Sandra Jansen.
Their chances of success in an area as diverse as Toronto are not good – Ms Jansen, who is the party’s candidate in the Calgary Nose Hill constituency, said last week she had “not made significant progress” in the polls.
Mr Tory, who is seeking a second term in the city, said there was “no place for complacency” when it came to the environment.
But he said the goal should be to make sure the environment benefited as many people as possible – as a leader for richer people, or for poorer people, would not have a strong impact.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May has been in Toronto this weekend to meet Tory and other leaders. Image copyright Demetrios Papademetriou, 2012 Image caption Green Party leader Elizabeth May was once a prominent political scientist in her native Canada
He referred to the concerns of the Conservative MP’s, who, with the absence of a national climate change bill, are worried about the impact of regulations and initiatives put in place by the provinces.
The Conservatives’ preoccupation with keeping their strong base of supporters and the need to be seen to be effective on federal issues, as well as appealing to Conservatives in the province, means federal candidates can come to Toronto and endorse Tory or Liberal candidates and do not have to worry about upsetting powerful allies.
But if Mr Tory was nervous about losing a seat, he kept it secret.
He voted at a Liberal Party party at a restaurant across the street from city hall. He did not acknowledge the Liberal Party as his political supporters.
Speaking to the BBC afterwards, he said: “I always vote on issues of the most importance to me, and I always work best when I have ideas I can get others to agree with, rather than staying alone with some personal convictions.”
