Ontario Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter plans to resign seat to run for Toronto mayor

A member of Ontario's provincial parliament says she is planning to resign her seat and run in Toronto's upcoming mayoral race.

Ontario Liberal member Mitzie Hunter, who has represented Scarborough-Guildwood since 2013 and is a former education minister, says she is preparing to formally declare a mayoral bid next week.

She would have to resign her provincial seat this spring in order to run, but she says she is "in it to win it."

"I have a job to do in the legislature this week," Hunter said in an email to CBC Toronto.

"I take it seriously and must be clear to respond to the provincial budget, but I am preparing."

That would cut the leaderless Ontario Liberal caucus from eight to seven.

Hunter, who is currently the deputy leader of the Ontario Liberals, had also until recently been mulling a second run at the party leadership, but decided to bow out and focus on a move to municipal politics.

"We are at a critical moment in our city and we need fresh new leadership, not more of the same," said Hunter.

Who's in, who's out so far

It's shaping up to be a crowded field in the race to replace Tory.

On Monday,former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders announced his candidacy. The next day, Toronto-St. Paul's councillor Josh Matlow confirmed his intention to run.

Last week,former three-term councillor and top Tory ally AnaBailosaid she would also run.

Days earlier, former Toronto councillor Giorgio Mammoliti announced he's planning to join the contest. Mammoliti lost his council seat in the 2018 election and moved to Wasaga Beach, where he launched an unsuccessful bid to become the mayor of that town.

Other current councillors are also positioning themselves for a mayoral run, including Brad Bradford and Stephen Holyday, though none have said definitivelythat they're "in."

Some who ran in the last mayoral election are also set to run again, including Gil Penalosa, Chloe Brown and Blake Acton.

There are alsothose currently outsidecity hall's orbit, such as former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey, who has announced his own bid for the mayor's chair.

Plenty more Torontonians are expected to put their name forward in the weeks to come. In the last election, 31 people ran for mayor, only to see Tory cruise to victory.