Popular Toronto Councillor stepping down to run for Ontario NDP in June

Within 48 hours of incumbent MPP Suzie Morrison stepping down from the position of Ontario NDP candidate for Toronto Centre, the Party has announced that popular Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has been selected as the next candidate.

"To the residents of Ward 13 - Toronto Centre, it is with much gratitude and love that I announce that I will not be seeking re-election for City Council in October. Furthermore, after a great deal of consideration and conversations with my family and close friends, I have decided to put my name forward to seek the NDP nomination to become the next Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre," Wong Tam said in a post.

The resignation will take effect on May 4th, the week an Ontario Election is expected to be called for June 3rd.

Wong Tam said that her roots in the riding ru deep and is looking forward to the next chapter of her life, "My love for Toronto Centre and our neighbourhoods runs deep. It is my home. When my family immigrated to Canada in 1975, our first apartment was in Regent Park and it was there I learned to speak English at Sprucecourt Public School. As a queer teen, I found community and support in the Church Wellesley Village.

"As a university student, I was an overnight worker in a women’s shelter run by the Catholic Church near Allan Gardens and later in my 30s, I opened a successful business on Church Street. I am raising my family in Toronto Centre and for almost 12 years, I have had the tremendous privilege of representing our communities at City Hall," she added.

The 3 term councillor was first elected in 2010, in Ward 27.

Toronto Centre has never elected an NDP MPP, until 2018 when the Ontario NDP swept most of the city including Toronto Centre.

Liberal George Smitherman and Glen Murray represented the riding prior to Suze Morrison.