Chris Alexander exits Toronto mayor race as Chow, Bradford lead polls

Former Conservative MP Chris Alexander has dropped out of the race to become Toronto’s next mayor, saying he no longer saw a clear path to victory.

Alexander announced his withdrawal Tuesday, ahead of advance voting, after consistently polling behind leading candidates Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford.

“We were in this to change the outlook to make it a three-way race. But with three weeks to go, I think that would be very hard to do,” Alexander said, according to CBC News.

A Liaison Strategies poll released Tuesday put Alexander in third place with nine percent support among decided and leaning voters. Chow led with 48 percent, followed by Bradford at 40 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,000 Toronto residents from October 3 to 4 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Alexander said he would not endorse another candidate and denied that pressure from another campaign influenced his decision.

The former diplomat served as Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 before entering federal politics.

Alexander represented Ajax-Pickering as an MP from 2011 to 2015 and served as immigration minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper.

His withdrawal leaves 52 candidates running to become Toronto’s next mayor.