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Odessa Paloma Parker joins Toronto’s Mayoral race
Announces intention to focus campaign on environment, safe and healthy communities and fiscal rehabilitation
Toronto, ON (July 13, 2026) - Cultural journalist, community leader, entrepreneur, educator, and lifelong Torontonian Odessa Paloma Parker today announced she is running for Mayor in the upcoming municipal election in Toronto.
Parker was inspired to run after witnessing how the current municipal system has not been working for everyday citizens. Her plan, fuelled by compassion, progress and community, is to focus on fiscal rehabilitation and growth, recreation as a priority, environmental action, safe and healthy communities, and housing for all.
Finer plan details will be released on odessaformayor.ca, @odessaformayor and the campaign newsletter.
“I believe that the next four years in Toronto’s history will be its most important, and there’s no time to waste on maintaining the status quo. In the last twenty years, I have watched the municipal government underfund and neglect key city necessities and amenities. Now, as the province’s overreach continues to broaden, the urgency around affordable and public housing, harm reduction, safety and food security is even more pressing. It’s time for new leadership, helmed by people who have existed outside the political arena to bring new insights and ideas to the table," said Parker. “The city falls short of meaningful public engagement and consultation and inserts needless bureaucracy into processes that hinder real action on initiatives and programs that the public actually want. Toronto’s elected officials must prioritize decision-making that’s inclusive, transparent and opens avenues of accountability,”
"If there’s one thing I have learned from being a cultural journalist, it’s that the most interesting and successful creatives I’ve met are those who have pivoted towards their passion, even if they had no background or are self-taught. Not having the traditional perimeters forced them to forge a new path based on gut instinct, knowledge gathering and sharing, and perseverance in the face of adversity.” she added.
Odessa describes her forthcoming policy and program ideas as “ambitions” rather than promises.
“I’m not going to make the unrealistic claims that have become all too common in politics today,” Parker says, adding that she does not affiliate with any currently operating Canadian political party but that the Democratic Socialist movement has been influential in her decision to run right now.
“Toronto made me who I am. I want every person who lives in this great city to live with dignity, and access to the things that drive wellness, ambition and happiness. It’s only from there that Toronto can truly materialize its full potential.”
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Odessa Paloma Parker, photo credit: Jenna Marie Wakani
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Odessa Paloma Parker has called Toronto home her entire life. Born downtown and raised in Scarborough, she is a graduate of the University of Toronto St. George Campus. Parker moved to central Toronto after graduating and now resides in the High Park neighbourhood. Living in various locations across the city has greatly informed her campaign ambitions. Parker is a cultural journalist, award-winning stylist, educator and brand strategist drive by curiosity, passion and a desire to communicate.
For more about Parker, please visit www.odessaformayor.ca
Photo assets here.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Michelle Easton
michelle@eastoncc.ca, 416-454-9060
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