The players on Olivia Chow’s council

Who’s in, who’s out — and what it means to the future of Toronto

After more than a decade of conservative mayors and their right-leaning policies, Toronto has suddenly found itself run by a chief magistrate with deep NDP ties and a focus on social justice.

Last summer’s sudden, dramatic shift in the political orientation of the person running city hall — from former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory to ex-NDP MP Oliva Chow — sent 25 councillors scrambling, eager to define their new roles and build council support for their issues.

Tory’s command-and-control structure with a clearly defined team of insiders — and clearly defined group of outsiders — has been replaced by something much looser, with Chow repeatedly extending her hand across the aisle to politicians of different political stripes. That means a greater potential for influence and legislative success for some councillors, but also greater uncertainty.

Chow said she doled out appointments after asking all councillors about their passions — what they hope to achieve at city hall. As she approaches one year since being elected, Chow has almost always got her way at city council, even gaining consensus on thorny issues such as housing and World Cup hosting.

As the new normal takes root at city hall, the Star looks at the key councillors with the most to gain and the most to lose, and how those political changes could affect the city over the next three years. Here are the outsiders suddenly on the inside, the former Chow foes weighing opposition versus collaboration, and the erstwhile allies clinging to their independence.