The Many Faces of Leadership in a Thriving City

For most of the last four years, Toronto has been fixated on Mayor Rob Ford. Why do these perceptions seem so disconnected from reality? Over the last decade, Toronto has risen in world rankings, placing in the top ten consistently in measures of livability, prosperity, and business investment attractiveness. It is clearly the number-one city in Canada in financial power and cultural facilities, and as a media centre.

The fact is, Toronto is booming, and this hasn’t happened by accident. While the frantic media coverage has given the impression that the City suffers from leadership paralysis, the reality is very different. At City Hall, members of council and staff have done their utmost to fill the leadership vacuum. A less-recognized ingredient in Toronto’s success, however, has been the city-building and civic leadership that has emerged from vibrant and innovative private firms, public institutions, non-profits, and cultural sector organizations in Toronto’s wider civil society. There are many faces of leadership in a thriving city. This paper, the second in the IMFG’s PreElection series, profiles some of them and reflects on how, for any great city, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.