Ward 11 — University–Rosedale

University–Rosedale is a ward of extreme contrasts, stretching from the University of Toronto's St. George campus east through Yorkville and Rosedale to the Don Valley. The ward encompasses some of Toronto's wealthiest residential streets — Rosedale's ravine-flanked mansions and Yorkville's luxury retail corridor — alongside the Annex, a dense, progressive neighbourhood of Victorian houses subdivided into apartments and populated heavily by students, academics, and young professionals. With a population of roughly 106,000, the ward has both the highest average household income in the city (approximately $171,000) and one of its highest renter proportions (over 50 percent), reflecting the coexistence of old money and transient student populations. Councillor Dianne Saxe, Ontario's former Environmental Commissioner, was elected in 2022 on a platform centred on climate action.

Chow won University–Rosedale with 46.9 percent (16,307 votes) to Bailão's 29.3 percent (10,188), a margin of 6,119 votes. The ward's progressive character has deep institutional roots — the University of Toronto's presence shapes the electorate — and Chow's lead in advance voting was particularly pronounced here, with 2,572 advance votes to Bailão's 297. Matlow placed third at 6.4 percent, Saunders took 5.4 percent, and Chloe Brown earned 3.5 percent. The 34,804 total votes reflected strong engagement from the ward's politically attentive population.

Municipal Issues

The homelessness crisis was the ward's most contentious issue. Encampments in parks throughout the ward — including in and around the University of Toronto campus — had become a flashpoint between residents who supported the right to shelter and those who wanted enforcement. The 2021 encampment clearances at parks across the city — most notably at Trinity-Bellwoods and Lamport Stadium — which involved significant police action, remained politically charged. Chow's emphasis on supportive housing and harm reduction aligned with the views of the ward's progressive majority, but Rosedale and Yorkville residents who bore the daily impact of encampments in their neighbourhoods were more receptive to enforcement-oriented approaches.

Intensification along the Bloor-Danforth corridor and around transit stations was a persistent planning concern. The Annex, with its mix of heritage homes and student housing, faced development proposals that residents argued would overwhelm the neighbourhood's low-rise character. Meanwhile, the ward's wealthier enclaves in Rosedale benefited from heritage protections and political influence that largely shielded them from the development pressures felt in other parts of the city — an asymmetry that critics noted when discussing housing supply and affordability.