Julia Frankling –
In a three-way municipal election race to be Ward 13’s city councillor, newcomer Curran Stikuts defeated Chris Moise and challenger Daniel Tate on October 26.
“It was shocking. We’ve run a really good campaign and had an absolutely amazing team of people who have given it their all. But at the end of the day, going up against an incumbent is a very big challenge,” Stikuts told the bridge at his victory party.
“We were 100 per cent surprised and just thrilled.”
A first-time challenger beating a first-term incumbent happens rarely in a Toronto municipal election. 18 of the 25 council seats were won by incumbents this year.
Stikuts secured his seat with 28.6 per cent of the vote, 2,187 votes ahead of Moise’s 23.4 percent, followed by Tate with 15.2 per cent of the vote. Toronto Centre counted a total of 41,498 ballots in its 78 polls, with a city-wide voter turn-out reaching 45.8 per cent, highest in over a decade.
Curran Stikuts led with 11,877 votes, followed by Chris Moise with 9,690, Daniel Tate with 6,288 votes, Walied Khogali Ali with 3,368 and Nicki Ward with 2,610.
Moise, a former Toronto District School Board trustee, became Toronto Centre’s city councillor with 48.5 per cent of the vote in 2022. He was previously backed by former Ward 13 councillor and current Toronto Centre MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, but they endorsed Stikuts this election.
Stikuts, previously the 519 Centre’s advocacy director, appreciated the endorsement. “I’ve worked with Kristyn for over 10 years now, so their endorsement meant a lot to me, and it’s a type of leadership I would like to emulate going forward.”
Wong-Tam celebrated with Stikuts at his campaign party, describing the results as a victory for not only the candidate, but for the entire community of Ward 13.
“There was a real desire for change and for better representation in Toronto Centre. And I’m absolutely thrilled and humbled by the results.” Stikuts said.
Predictive polls had suggested Moise would win, with Tate trailing closely.
Days before the election, Moise’s campaign distributed flyers declaring “It’s a two-way race,” citing polls putting Moise ahead of Tate by four percentage points. “New polling by Forum shows it’s a tight two-way race between Chris Moise and alt-right candidate Daniel Tate,” it said.
Ward 13 resident Brian C. voted for Stikuts due to concerns over what he said was Moise’s lack of responsiveness. He said the flyer had not influenced his vote. “He’s reaching out to me on the day of voting, for what? Oh, support. It’s a reciprocal arrangement in my mind, when you don’t speak or answer the constituents, I don’t feel like you’re representing us. You’re better off calling 311.”
Stikuts identified his priorities as affordability, housing, public safety and maintenance of public spaces.
He has advocated for a coordinated response to housing, homelessness and addictions. Asked what he’d change about the city’s approach, he said, “there’s more work we can do to ensure that we’re creating better conditions for tenants. Some of these buildings are in incredibly rough shape and there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure that people can feel safe and healthy in their own homes.”
“The most important piece that we need to change at the city level in the short term is looking at our shelter system… and making sure that they’re up to a place in which folks who need to get inside feel safe and welcome in doing so. That’s simply not the case right now.”
“That obviously involves expanding access, because far too often people aren’t able to get a bed, but also making sure that there is a bed somewhere somebody actually wants to stay.”
Following his defeat, Moise issued a statement. “It has been the honour of my life serving you as your City Councillor for Ward 13. The reality is that in 2026 Toronto Centre has become hyper-polarized, hyper-partisan, and hyper-combative – and last night’s result reflects this.”
“When elected representatives publicly feud with and campaign against the other elected representatives that their constituents have chosen, everyone loses,” presumably referring to Wong- Tam’s endorsement of Stikuts.
“I take great pride in all the positives we’ve accomplished since 2022, I hold my head high, and I sincerely thank you for your support.”
Curran Stikuts – 11,877 – 28.6%
Chris Moise – 9,690 – 23.4%
Daniel Tate – 6,288 – 15.2%
Walied Khogali Ali – 3,368 – 8.1%
Nicki Ward – 2,610 – 6.3%
Other – 7,665 – 18.5%
