It will be difficult to retire Sunshine’s Canadian flag. She’s had it on display for over a year. It’s been so enjoyable visiting this wonderful country. Sunday, August 6, was our last day in Canada as we left Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, for Drummond Island, Michigan.

We didn’t anticipate spending so much time in Canada on our Great Loop adventure. Last August and September we loved cruising Georgian Bay and its 30,000 islands. This year we spent June and July in Penetanguishene, the North Channel, and Lake Superior. What an amazing four months!

Our family has a lot of history with Canada. Early on in Captain Pat’s career with W. R. Grace he was transferred to Toronto. There he married Doreen Molenda, and soon after their son Andrew was born. Katherine was born in the states as they later moved to Massachusetts.

As a blended family, over the years we’ve always kept in touch and had some great times with the Molenda family. Irene, Brian, Myron and Pam even visited us last year in Orillia during our Loop adventure.

We see Stephanie and Cam when we visit Arizona and we shared a condo with them in Rocky Point, Mexico one recent New Year’s eve.

Of course we visit Doreen and Al in Arizona often as we share holidays and vacations with Andrew and Becky, Katherine and Jeff, and our four granddaughters.

Patrick enjoyed getting to know Canada again, and I have a newfound appreciation for this wonderful country. It was sad to leave Sault Ste. Marie, knowing it was our last night in Canada.

Hopefully we will return soon.

Toronto and Politics – A Dog Runs for Mayor!

Toronto held its 2023 mayoral election while we visited Midland this past June. We watched the BBCCNN news coverage of the election while having breakfast at our hotel. There were 102 candidates – including one dog!

Per a BBC.com article – a six-year-old wolf-husky canine named Molly and her owner Toby Heaps are running on the promise to “Stop the Salt Assault” on city roads during the winter.

The overuse of salt on roads during the winter, Mr. Heaps argues, can hurt the paws of tender-footed canines like Molly. His campaign also proposes a fix to housing unaffordability, a tax-hike on billion-dollar businesses and a ban on fossil-fuel heating systems in new homes and commercial buildings.

If he wins, he says he will designate Molly as the city’s first honorary dog mayor.

This is the first by-election in Toronto’s history since six municipalities joined to form what is colloquially known as the ‘mega-city’ 25 years ago. The contest was called after the resignation of John Tory, the city’s mayor for the past eight years.

Mr. Tory’s rise to power in 2014 was seen as a welcome reprieve from the reign of Rob Ford, who made international headlines for admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office.

But Mr. Tory has been criticized for lacking a meaningful vision for Toronto, and for deepening inequality in one of the world’s most unaffordable cities. A Toronto Star column described him as ‘rarely inspirational and too often overly cautious’.

The barrier for entry into the race is remarkably low. A fee of C$250 ($189) and 25 signatures is all a Torontonian needs to run for mayor. Unlike other large North American cities – namely New York, Los Angeles and Chicago – candidates do not run according to political party lines, which means there is no nomination process that would whittle down the pool.

Karen Chapple, the director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto, said that with the field wide open, some are attracted to run just to see if they have a shot.

“There’s kind of a gamblers aspect to it, kind of a Las Vegas aura,” she told the BBC.

Coupled with the consistently low voter turnout in Toronto’s mayoral elections, this means that most successful candidates already need a fair bit of name recognition.

Olivia Chow (left) is no stranger to politics. She ran for mayor in 2014, losing to John Tory (right). Doug Ford (center) also ran, and is now the premier of Ontario

The front-runner of the race, Chow was victorious and now reigns as Toronto’s mayor. Many of her opponents are current and former city councilors, with their own profiles in the community.

But the breadth and diversity of candidates this time around – from Molly the dog to an 18-year-old fresh out of high school – tells a story of how fragmented the city has become, Ms. Chapple said.

With a population of nearly three million, including many newcomers and immigrants, Toronto is the fourth-largest city in North America and consistently cited as one of the most diverse cities in the world. But with all those people from different walks of life, comes different perspectives on what kind of city Toronto should be.

The greater Toronto metro area is estimated to reach eight million by 2030.

Canadians and American Politics

It’s amazing how much Canadians know about American politics. Canadians are quite aware of current affairs in the United States and have varying opinions of its leadership.

One Sunday we went to Mass at the mission church across from the marina at Penetanguishene. We spoke to the Italian priest as we exited the church.

“Hello, Father, thank you. We loved the service. We are staying at the marina across the street.”

“Oh, you are visiting. Thank you for attending. Where are you from?”

“We are from Florida. We left our boat here over the winter and are now resuming our journey on Georgian Bay and the North Channel.”

“Oh! I love your governor. I hope he is the next President.”

We looked at him with surprise. He answers: “DeSantis! He would be a great President.”

We smile in return.