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Toronto’s mayoral race now has a familiar name from the city’s food scene.
Amy Rosen, the James Beard Award-nominated food writer, former Top Chef Canada casting producer and bestselling author, has joined the crowded field of candidates running for Mayor of Toronto. Before entering politics, Rosen was better known to Toronto food lovers as the woman behind Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns on College Street.
In 2016, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained journalist opened the bakery at 825 College St., eventually closing the storefront in 2018 and shifting the business to bake-at-home frozen dough. The space later became home to The Night Baker.
Rosen is now taking the experience she gained as a small business owner into City Hall, with a platform that covers everything from traffic and snow removal to small-business support.
One of her proposals is a dedicated traffic coordination office to better coordinate construction, TTC closures and major events — an idea aimed at avoiding the familiar Toronto scenario of several disruptions converging on the same stretch of road.
She is also proposing a major tree-planting initiative, including 10,000 lilac trees and says she wants to make it easier for independent shops and restaurants to survive the city’s commercial-rent crunch.
On transportation, Rosen is proposing changes to the rules around bike lanes and motorized vehicles, including moving vehicles travelling more than 32 km/h onto the road. She is also calling for more consistent snow removal across the city.
It’s a considerable pivot from selling cinnamon buns on College Street to campaigning for City Hall. But Rosen’s background in food and small business is clearly central to how she is approaching the race.
We can’t promise that electing a former baker will mean free cinnamon buns on tax day. But with election day set for October 26, Rosen is betting that her background in food and small business will resonate with Torontonians.
