Do municipal councils represent the diversity of their constituents?
Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton are among Canada's most diverse cities, but how closely do their municipal councils reflect the communities they represent?
As voters prepare for the Oct. 26 municipal elections, New Canadian Media has  examined the barriers to political representation in these three major cities.
The series explored the challenges facing immigrant and visible minority candidates; the advantages enjoyed by incumbents; the role of campaign fundraising; and debates over the use of languages other than English to reach voters. It has also looked at whether public transit systems are meeting the needs of immigrant communities.
Voter participation remains a concern. In Ontario's 2022 municipal elections, participation fell to a historic low of 32.9 per cent, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton are reporting increased advance voting numbers, although that may not translate into a higher overall voter turnout.
In its Turn up the Turnout report, the AMO suggests the shrinking of the local media environment has had far-reaching impacts on voter participation and turnout.Â
As part of this coverage, NCM reporter Rodrigo Huerta Aguirre created an interactive map to help readers explore the relationship between local demographics, elected representatives and voter participation.
The map below shows municipal election results from 2022 and subsequent byelections, along with information on councillors, ward demographics drawn from the 2021 census and voter turnout in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton.
These  details offer a closer look at the communities that municipal councils represent, and the residents who participate in choosing them.
The map reveals striking differences between wards, even within the same city. In Mississauga, immigrants made up nearly 60 per cent of residents in Wards 4 and 6 according to  the 2021 census. In Wards 1 and 2, immigrants accounted for one third of the population.
Voter participation varied widely across Toronto in 2022, with turnout reaching 38 per cent in ParkdaleâHigh Park but falling to 22 per cent in Humber RiverâBlack Creek.
By placing these demographic figures next to the names and photographs of elected representatives, the map shows how closely municipal councils reflect the communities they serve. The differences in voter participation also raise broader questions about political representation and the barriers to participation explored in NCM's election coverage.
 <div style="width: 100% !important; clear: both; margin: 25px 0;"><iframe style="width: 100% !important; height: 700px !important; min-height: 600px !important; border: 0 !important; border-radius: 12px; box-shadow: 0 4px 16px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);" title="2022 municipal election map: Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton" src="https://rodrigohuertaguirre.github.io/ncm-election-map/" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">
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Copyright 2026, New Canadian Media. All rights reserved.
Rodrigo Huerta Aguirre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media.
PSPP veut instaurer 3 semaines de vacances pour tous au Québec : Voici quoi savoir
Une prioritĂ© sur laquelle il ne perd pas de temps. đ
Lors de l'assermentation de son cabinet ministériel ce mercredi 21 octobre, le premier ministre Paul St-Pierre Plamondon a promis aux Québécois et aux Québécoises qu'un minimum de trois semaines de vacances payées serait accordé aux travailleurs et travailleuses de la province.
Ă lire Ă©galement : Nouveau Conseil des ministres de PSPP : On te dĂ©mĂȘle qui fait quoi au gouvernement
C'est du moins ce qu'il a laissé entendre en présentant le mandat de son nouveau ministre du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, Mathieu Lebrun.
« Vous aurez notamment comme mandat dâhonorer nos engagements Ă©lectoraux en matiĂšre de normes du travail, entre autres par lâinstauration dâun minimum de trois semaines de vacances », a-t-il dĂ©clarĂ©.
Le Parti québécois (PQ) soutient que cette promesse faisait bel et bien partie de sa plateforme électorale, bien qu'aucune annonce publique n'a été faite durant les 39 jours de campagne.
En feuilletant la plateforme électorale 2026 du PQ, on constate effectivement que l'engagement d'instaurer un minimum de trois semaines de vacances payées dans les normes du travail figure dans la section consacrée à la famille.
Ă l'heure actuelle, la Loi sur les normes du travail prĂ©voit un jour de vacances par mois complet de service continu pour les personnes qui travaillent chez un mĂȘme employeur depuis moins d'un an, et deux semaines de vacances pour celles qui comptent entre un et trois ans de service continu.
AprÚs trois ans de service continu, les personnes salariées ont droit à un minimum de trois semaines de vacances. Les employeurs peuvent toutefois en offrir davantage.
Quelles sont les autres promesses du PQ pour les familles?
Les trois semaines de vacances payĂ©es sont loin d'ĂȘtre le seul engagement du Parti quĂ©bĂ©cois pour faciliter la vie des familles.
Dans sa plateforme électorale de 2026, la formation politique promet notamment de créer 10 000 nouvelles places en CPE d'ici quatre ans, en plus des 15 000 déjà en cours de réalisation, pour un total de 25 000 places supplémentaires d'ici 2030.
Le PQ souhaite également bonifier les allocations familiales jusqu'à 700 $ pour les troisiÚme et quatriÚme enfants, en plus d'améliorer le Régime québécois d'assurance parentale (RQAP). Il propose notamment de garantir des prestations minimales de 300 $ par semaine, d'augmenter les taux de remplacement du revenu et de permettre aux parents d'utiliser leurs prestations sur une période de trois ans.
Parmi ses autres promesses, on retrouve le remboursement des deuxiÚme et troisiÚme cycles de fécondation in vitro, la prolongation du suivi postnatal des sages-femmes de six semaines à quatre mois et des mesures fiscales pour faciliter l'accÚs à la propriété grùce au transfert de REER des parents vers leurs enfants.
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Recount flips Quebec riding to the Parti Québécois, Liberals refuse to concede
A judicial recount has flipped a riding in the Montérégie region of Quebec from the Liberal Party to the Parti Québécois by a three-vote margin.
However, the Quebec Liberal Party is refusing to concede victory to its rival for now.Â
Liberal candidate Affine Lwalalika had initially been declared the winner of the Vachon riding by a margin of ten votes.
A recount was triggered and ended on Wednesday.
Quebec's election authority says the recount gave the upper hand to PQ candidate Stephan Fogaing by three votes.
The Liberal Party says it acknowledges the results of the recount but that its lawyers are reviewing the situation.Â
âAll options are on the table, and we will make a decision quickly on how to proceed,â the party wrote on its social media accounts.
Data from the election authority, Ălections QuĂ©bec, shows more ballots were rejected in the recount than on election day, going from 588 to 730 rejected ballots.
The incumbent for Vachon, former Coalition Avenir QuĂ©bec cabinet minister Ian LafreniĂšre, congratulated Fogaing.Â
âThe judicial recount declared him the winner by three votes in Vachon. The phrase âevery vote countsâ takes on its full meaning,â wrote the former domestic security minister on X.Â
LafreniĂšre had finished third with just under 21 per cent of the vote on election day.Â
The PQ has also requested a judicial recount in Champlain, in the Mauricie region, where its candidate lost by 191 votes to Conservative candidate Adriana Szalontai.Â
The Court of Quebec confirmed the recount on Tuesday. It is set to begin Thursday at the Trois-RiviĂšres courthouse.
In its press release, the election authority says there have been seven judicial recounts after a provincial election since 2000. Recounts in 2003 and 1994 led to ties, which triggered byelections.Â
â With files from FrĂ©dĂ©ric Lacroix-Couture
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.