Meet the canine candidate that ran for Toronto mayoral election

Does Toronto's democratic process require human participation? It turns out that it can be considerably more diverse than you ever anticipated! 

The Toronto mayoral election just ended electing a woman of colour, Olivia Chow. Among the other 102 participants, one, however, stands out. 

Molly, a six-year-old Russian rescue dog, and her owner, Toby Heaps, took part in the campaign, challenging Toronto's traditional political landscape with their unique paw-perspective.

"Molly would be an essential part of the public life of Toronto, and also, in all the rooms where the decisions were getting made," Heaps had told Canadian newspaper The Toronto Observer.

"I am running to be the human mayor because the law is built that you have to be [at least] 18 years old," he said earlier. "The first thing I would do if I was elected is to initiate the procedures to have Molly be appointed to be the first dog mayor of Toronto."

Heaps said they ran a serious campaign, as they have established a campaign team, raised funds, including a $20,000 investment from Heaps himself, and they were prepared to address critical issues in a playful and creative way.

"We are going to shake things up," he said.

"This is an exciting campaign with a unique approach to campaigning, but with a lot of solid ideas on how we can build communities that are good for people and pets as well," said Becky Smith, the campaign manager for Heaps and Molly.

Molly, a six-year-old wolf-husky cross breed, was rescued as a puppy in Sochi, Russia, and brought to Canada. She was formerly owned by Heaps' mother, who lost her battle with cancer in 2021. Molly holds a special place in their hearts.

With the goal of making Toronto a more dog-friendly city, Heaps and Molly's primary objective was to reduce the negative effects of road salt on the paws of canines. This issue initially motivated Heaps to join Molly on her political journey.