With the recent candidate endorsements by the London and District Labour Council, a new layer has been added to the city of London’s ongoing election, one that one expert believes could potentially have a major impact on its outcome.
This past Saturday, the Labour Council announced of who they endorse in each ward for the 2026 city elections, with names including incumbent mayor Josh Morgan. These endorsements were the product of a questionnaire given to each candidate, asking for responses on a wide range of topics, including climate change, the housing crisis, the cost of living, Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation, and AI.
“These are values-based questions,” says Mike Donachie, editor-in-chief of the London Ontario Online News (The LOON). “That makes it really interesting if people want to get to know their candidates.”
Donachie says the values raised in the questions posed by the Labour Council are meant to reflect those held by the unions that the Council serves as an umbrella group for.
Even so, the impact of the questions seems to hold a wider impact. Corrine Rahman, a candidate for Ward 5, says she has seen those values mentioned while canvassing door-to-door.
“I really value those conversations at the door,” she says, also adding that she has found the importance of the issues on the questionnaire matter differently to different people across the ward she is campaigning in.
Rahman has been endorsed by the Labour Council for three elections, including the current one.
XFM News has reached out to all Ward 5 candidates for comment on the endorsements. Candidate Mary Blake Rose says that while she is disappointed to have not received the endorsement, she respects the Labour Council’s process and remains confident in her campaign. Otherwise, as of publication, Simon Karikkassery, Abid Raza, and Charles Spina have not responded.
Beyond just the potential to gauge a candidate’s views, the Labour Council’s endorsements can hold a substantial amount of power for its recipients. In the 2022 election, eight of the 15 endorsed candidates won their race.
Campaign signs in Ward 5. The endorsements of the London and District Labour Council can have a major impact on the outcome of an election.
Photo: Curtis Stokman
“If you have a recommendation from your union […] that answers the problem for you,” says Donachie, adding that the impact of these endorsements is greater in wards with low turnouts and large numbers of candidates.
“This is massively influential.”
Rahman adds that in her experience, “[the endorsement] just lends that extra credibility” in the eyes of the Labour Council and their interests.
The endorsements are not without controversy, however. In a recent thread on the London subreddit, several users questioned and voiced objections regarding the choices of candidates by the Labour Council.
“There will be push and pull in every ward,” says Donachie. “Every candidate needs to be open to taking criticism on the regular.”
In the end, the endorsements and the values they reflect are still one part of the larger election as a whole, with Rahman saying that when the new city council is elected, it decides for itself what to address.
“Part of it is coalescing around interests that are shared,” she says. “I think that’s a really important step in the process.”
