Lily Cheng is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ward 18 Willowdale on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

in the 2022 Toronto municipal election.

Background

Cheng first became known as founder of North York Moms, an online discussion forum for mothers in the Willowdale area. In 2018, she organized a march through the neighbourhood to reclaim

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

and advocate for public safety in the neighbourhood following the 2018 Toronto van attack. Prior to her election in 2022, she also served as the executive director of the NeighbourLink North York

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

Political career

Cheng ran against incumbent councillor John Filion in the 2018 Toronto municipal election. Filion had originally intended not to run again that year, and had in fact endorsed Cheng as his successor in the former Ward 29, however, after the provincial government of

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

passed legislation cutting the size of the city council in half by aligning ward boundaries with provincial and federal electoral district boundaries in the city, Filion changed his mind and ran again, winning the seat over Cheng.

2022 election

Following Filion's retirement from politics in 2022 she ran again, winning the seat over Filion's former chief of staff Markus O'Brien Fehr. She campaigned largely on issues of housing in the ward, including opposing a controversial

supportive housing Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States. It was developed by ...

development on Cummer Avenue and lobbying for greater community input into a municipal plan to lease a hotel in the ward as an emergency homeless shelter. Cheng won the seat following the October 24 election and took office on November 15.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Lily Toronto city councillors Women municipal councillors in Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women in Ontario politics Living people Year of birth missing (living people)