London, Ontario held its municipal election on October 24, 2022, choosing a new mayor and 14 city councillors. The race was shaped by the retirement of one-term mayor Ed Holder, who announced in May 2022 that he would not seek re-election, citing health concerns following surgery. The election was also notable for the return to first-past-the-post voting after London became the first municipality in Canada since Calgary in 1971 to use ranked ballots in its 2018 election — a system subsequently banned by the provincial government through Bill 218 in 2020. Turnout fell to a record low of 25.5%, with approximately 71,666 of the city's 281,073 eligible voters casting ballots, a sharp decline from the 39% turnout recorded in 2018.

Mayoral Race

Josh Morgan, who had served as deputy mayor and Ward 7 councillor, won the mayoralty in a landslide with 46,283 votes, capturing 65.7% of the ballot. Former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal finished a distant second with 15,912 votes (22.6%). Pastor Sandie Thomas placed third with 2,297 votes (3.3%), and seven other candidates combined for the remaining 8.4%. Morgan's nearly three-to-one margin over Ramal reflected his broad support across the city, bolstered by an unusual sweep of cross-partisan endorsements from all three major federal parties.

Mayoral Candidates

Josh Morgan moved to London in 1998 to attend the University of Western Ontario, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science and a master's degree in political science with a focus on local government. He was first elected to council in Ward 7 in 2014 with 56.6% of the vote and was re-elected in 2018 with 75.2%. Mayor Holder appointed him deputy mayor in 2020, and he also served as budget chair. Morgan campaigned on a pledge to build 50,000 new homes over the next decade, with at least 10,000 in core neighbourhoods. He proposed development charge waivers and incentives for below-market rents, expansion of London and Middlesex Community Housing, and a rent-to-own program. On transit, Morgan had voted against the west leg of the Bus Rapid Transit system on council, arguing its lane configuration would create bottlenecks, and instead proposed completing the city's Master Mobility Plan within his first year. His endorsement list was unusually broad: outgoing Mayor Holder, Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos, NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen, Conservative MP Karen Vecchio, and the London and District Labour Council all backed his candidacy.

Khalil Ramal served as Liberal MPP for London—Fanshawe from 2003 to 2011 under Premier Dalton McGuinty's government. Born in Lebanon, Ramal held degrees in sociology and social politics from Lebanese University. He ran on restoring the scrapped northern and western legs of the BRT system, pledged to create 240 new homes in partnership with a local builder — with half designated as affordable — and proposed two round-the-clock centres for homelessness support.

Sandie Thomas, a well-known local pastor, entered the race on the final day of registration and placed third with 3.3% of the vote. Seven other candidates each received less than 2.1%.

Campaign Issues

Housing affordability and the homelessness crisis dominated the campaign. London was among the fastest-growing cities in Ontario, and rising costs were pushing home ownership and stable rental housing out of reach for many residents. Approximately 1,900 people were on the city's by-name list as experiencing homelessness, with roughly 700 self-reporting mental health or addiction challenges. Encampments in parks and public spaces were highly visible and politically divisive, intertwined with an escalating opioid crisis that had claimed hundreds of lives.

The future of Bus Rapid Transit was a key dividing line between the two leading candidates. The west and north legs of the BRT had been scrapped by the outgoing council, leaving only the downtown, east, and south corridors. Ramal pledged to restore the cancelled routes, while Morgan, who had voted against the west leg on council, favoured completing the broader mobility plan with a mix of express routes and intelligent traffic signal upgrades.

The provincial ban on ranked-ballot voting drew frustration from many Londoners who had embraced the system in 2018. City council had formally opposed the province's move, and the forced return to first-past-the-post shaped public sentiment around democratic reform heading into the election.

Notable Ward Races

The election produced a significant council turnover, with eight of 14 seats going to new members. Three sitting incumbents were defeated — an unusually high number for London. In Ward 13, David Ferreira unseated John Fyfe-Millar by just 34 votes in the closest contest of the night. In Ward 1, Hadleigh McAlister defeated longtime councillor Michael van Holst. In Ward 6, University of Western Ontario professor Sam Trosow defeated Mariam Hamou, who had been appointed to the seat by council in 2021 rather than winning it through a general election. Five additional seats turned over as incumbents chose not to run: Ward 3 elected Peter Cuddy, Ward 4 elected Susan Stevenson, Ward 5 elected Jerry Pribil with roughly 64% of the vote, Morgan's former seat in Ward 7 went to Corrine Rahman, and Ward 11 elected Skylar Franke. Six incumbents were returned: Shawn Lewis in Ward 2, Steve Lehman in Ward 8, Anna Hopkins in Ward 9, Paul Van Meerbergen in Ward 10, Elizabeth Peloza in Ward 12, and Steven Hillier in Ward 14.