‘We need to drop the pet projects and the side shows, and we need to get back to basics, and that’s what I’ll be advocating for’
Anthony Furey, who rose to prominence in the 2023 Toronto mayoral election as the highest-profile right-wing candidate in the race, is running in a byelection in Don Valley West.
The seat was vacated by longtime councillor Jaye Robinson, who died on May 17 following a battle with cancer.
Furey is the former VP of editorial and content at True North, a Canadian right-wing digital media platform, and a former Toronto Sun columnist and editor at Postmedia, the parent company of National Post.
Tell us about your city council campaign for Don Valley West. Why are you running?
Last year, I had the amazing experience of running for mayor of Toronto, and, throughout that project, my love for the city, and my passion for the issues, and my desire to play a role in bringing about positive change has only increased. While I’ve enjoyed going back to writing newspaper columns and hosting talk radio programs, I want to be a part of the solution now more than ever. Now, I would love to say that the quality of life issues that matter to Toronto residents have improved in the past 12 months, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. I think a number of them have worsened and, for that reason, I’m very excited about having the opportunity to represent the residents of Don Valley West.
What issues are driving you both in Don Valley West and Toronto at large?
That’s a great question because the residents of Don Valley West tell me they have concerns about their community and they have concerns about the broader city as well. I would say, one of the top issues I hear about repeatedly from residents is congestion, the feeling that they just can’t get anywhere anymore in Toronto. It’s incredibly frustrating and it’s almost the lead topic of conversation now, when any Toronto resident and ward resident is socializing. I want to play a positive role in getting Toronto moving again by having smarter and more effective transportation planning and construction management, and also by being an advocate to push back against this idea that we need to remove vehicle lanes on many more major streets to add in bike lanes. There is an appropriate place for bike lanes in this city, but it’s not on major roads, that’s only slowing us down.
One other issue that’s going to be very top of mind for people is public safety. Locally, car thefts remain a serious problem, and it’s not just people talking about which of their neighbours have had their car stolen. Everybody has many stories like that. We’re now at the point where people are talking about their neighbours who have had their car stolen twice. It’s just out of control. Now, more broadly, when it comes to public safety in the city, residents tell me they don’t feel safe going downtown anymore. They don’t feel safe on public transit anymore. So we need to restore confidence in public safety.
We’re now at the point where people are talking about their neighbours who have had their car stolen twice
Anthony Furey
Also, I’ve been a passionate advocate for drug treatment in Toronto. I don’t want more drug injection sites. I want more treatment facilities, because a lot of the people causing some of the crisis on our streets in Toronto are people who are unfortunately struggling with addiction, and by helping them reclaim their lives, we can help make the streets safer for all.
The other top issue that I’ll definitely be addressing here is affordability concerns and responsible budgeting. We’ve just had an almost 10 per cent tax increase in Toronto, the largest such tax increase in recent history. Residents can’t afford two more years of almost double-digit tax increases, and a lot of this has to do with priorities of how we spend our money.
We should not be focused on spending money on renaming Young and Dundas Square, and yet councillors and staff are putting a lot of their capital into that. Instead, we need to get back to basics and focus on effectively delivering the services that we all rely on. The recent flood really underscored how managing infrastructure and core services is what residents expect and where they want their tax dollars to go to, and I will be a champion for that.
What did you learn from your mayoral campaign?
I learned that when it comes to municipal politics, the saying “All politics is local” is so true. People tell you about their daily concerns, their hopes, their dreams, the things that are working, the things that aren’t working, and you meet them at their door. You meet them in their community and, regardless of their political affiliations, you think, “These are good families, good people who deserve good municipal representation.”
Do you think you’ll be able to work with Mayor Chow effectively, should you be elected?
I’m looking forward to serving on council to work with all the other municipal politicians and all city staff to bring about effective change, but I will speak out on the issues that I’m passionate about and I know the residents care about. Unfortunately, the direction of city hall right now isn’t improving key quality-of-life indicators when it comes to getting Toronto moving, when it comes to public safety, when it comes to affordability. So I’m going to be working with everybody to bring about positive change, but I also think we need to pivot. I think that we’re not focused on the things that matter. We need to drop the pet projects and the side shows, and we need to get back to basics, and that’s what I’ll be advocating for.
Is there anything else you would like the general public to know about you, about your aspirations?
Well, I’m really excited to get out there and become a voice for change, and I’m going to be an advocate for practical, common-sense solutions to make sure we can get back on track, tackling those basic services that residents rely on and I’m excited to get out there at the doors and just meet everybody. There’s nothing like running for office, knocking on people’s doors and meeting them one-on-one, making those meaningful personal connections and earning people’s trust one vote at a time. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing in the next few months.