Mike Layton is back as city councillor for Ward 11 University-Rosedale and his priorities include affordable housing, tenant protections, climate action and safe and affordable transit. 

Coun. Layton won the councillor seat in the 2026 Toronto municipal election with 46.2% of the votes, beating Diana Yoon who only had 19.1% of the votes and Karina Lemke who had 13.2%. He served as Ward 11’s councillor from 2010 to 2022 and had been on a brief hiatus to focus on his family.

The Green Line reached out to Layton to learn more about his priorities for the next four years, but got no response. Here are some of the promises Layton made in his campaign:

• Affordable housing and tenant protection: Layton says he wants to build affordable housing faster and to make sure properties are community-owned. He’s planning on expanding resources to community land trusts, as well as non-profit and supportive housing. He also wants to protect tenants and ensure the Toronto Rent Bank and the Eviction Prevention in the Community (EPIC) program are fully funded. 

• Climate action that creates jobs: Layton says he plans to cut emissions by putting heat pumps in every building. He wants to incorporate a green jobs pipeline for youth and build clean-energy training programs for young people. Layton also wants to cut single-use waste. 

• Safe and affordable transportation: Layton wants to speed up buses and streetcars, keep transit riders safe — though, he doesn’t say how — and finish the cycling network “by standing firm against provincial attempts to rip out or limit bike lanes and support the prioritization and implementation of the City’s Cycling Network Plan in every ward.”

Here’s how Layton responded to election pledges shared by local organizations and advocacy groups:

• Layton fully signed on to the Community-led Planning Pledge to fund community-led planning and centre community voices. 
• He signed the TTC Riders’ pledge to push for more reliable, affordable, accessible, frequent, fast, and safe public transit.
• He fully agreed to Cycle Toronto’s pledge to improve cycling infrastructure in the city.
• He fully committed to the demands raised by Toronto ACORN to give RentSafeTO teeth, stand up to Ontario and tackle heat and affordability. You can check the details here.
• He signed the Toronto Environmental Alliance’s pledge to commit to voting for a maximum temperature bylaw, plant trees in hot neighbourhoods, cut single-use trash at big events, pause approvals for big AI data centres and cut emissions.

Curious to see what else Layton promises? You can check out his election campaign here. Or, you can see what she said in an all-candidates meeting with the Chinatown Advocacy Network. 

Going to miss our election coverage? Well, municipal politics don’t stop when the polls close. Stay tuned to THEGREENLINE.TO for Documenters meetings, and send us a message of what municipal process or policy you want to see broken down.