Mary Fragedakis

Mary Fragedakis
Fragedakis in 2010
Toronto city councillor
for Ward 29 Toronto—Danforth
In office
December 1, 2010 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byCase Ootes
Succeeded byWard dissolved
Personal details
Born (1971-04-22) April 22, 1971 (age 55)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
PartyOntario Liberal
Other political
affiliations
New Democratic (2003–2010)
EducationUniversity of Toronto (MA)

Mary Fragedakis (/ˌfræɡəˈdækɪs/ FRAG-ə-DAK-iss; born April 22, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the Toronto city councillor for Ward 29 Toronto—Danforth from 2010 to 2018. She was the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Toronto—Danforth in the 2022 Ontario general election. In 2026, she became a candidate for Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth in the 2026 Toronto municipal election.

Early life and education

Fragedakis is the daughter of Greek immigrants and grew up in the Danforth community. She attended Wilkinson Public School, Earl Grey Senior Public School and Riverdale Collegiate Institute. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1996 with a Master of Arts in political science.

Prior to her election to city council, Fragedakis was involved for nine years with Open Dialogue, a conference and seminar organizing company. She was also one of the founders of the Broadview Community Youth Group.

Political career

Toronto City Council

2010 election

Fragedakis was encouraged to run for city council by former councillor and federal New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton. She contested Ward 29 Toronto—Danforth in the 2010 Toronto municipal election to succeed retiring councillor Case Ootes. She defeated Ootes's preferred candidate, former councillor Jane Pitfield, receiving 41.8 per cent of the vote to Pitfield's 27.9 per cent.

2014 election

Fragedakis was re-elected in the 2014 Toronto municipal election, receiving 59.3 per cent of the vote.

Toronto Transit Commission

Toronto City Council appointed Fragedakis to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) board in late 2016.

In 2017, she moved a motion to find $1.2 million for a subway reliability program that TTC chief executive officer Andy Byford said could reduce track-related subway delays by up to 30 per cent. During the city's 2018 budget process, she called for additional TTC funding to address overcrowding.

Along with mayor John Tory and TTC chair Josh Colle, Fragedakis advocated for the introduction of a two-hour transfer policy for TTC passengers using Presto.

During her time on council, Fragedakis also served on the city's economic and community development committee.

2018 election

Ahead of the 2018 Toronto municipal election, the Ontario government reduced the size of Toronto City Council from 47 proposed wards to 25 wards corresponding to federal and provincial electoral districts. The change combined the former wards represented by Fragedakis and Paula Fletcher into the new Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth. The two incumbent councillors consequently ran against each other.

Fletcher won the election with 42.3 per cent of the vote, while Fragedakis finished second with 26.2 per cent.

Business improvement areas

In April 2019, Fragedakis became executive director of the GreekTown on the Danforth Business Improvement Area (BIA). She remained in the position for more than six years, until her services were terminated in 2025.

Fragedakis also worked as executive director of the CityPlace and Fort York BIA and the Lawrence Ingram Keele BIA.

In March 2026, Fragedakis sued the GreekTown on the Danforth BIA for $115,000, alleging that she had been wrongfully terminated and subjected to defamation and harassment. The BIA denied the allegations and maintained that Fragedakis had worked as an independent contractor through her company, Urbaniciti, and that her contract had been terminated with reasonable notice.

2022 Ontario election

In January 2021, Fragedakis announced that she would seek the Ontario Liberal Party nomination in Toronto—Danforth for the 2022 Ontario general election. She was acclaimed as the party's candidate on March 17, 2021.

In the provincial election, Fragedakis finished second behind incumbent NDP MPP Peter Tabuns.

2026 Toronto election

On August 21, 2026, Fragedakis registered as a candidate for Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth in the 2026 Toronto municipal election, seeking to return to city council eight years after her 2018 defeat. Her candidacy followed incumbent councillor Paula Fletcher's announcement that she would retire rather than seek another term.

Fragedakis said that her work with business improvement areas following her departure from council had given her additional experience with local economies and the implementation of municipal policy. She described herself as both progressive and practical and identified public transit, affordability, small-business pressures, downtown recovery and infrastructure as issues of particular interest.

Electoral history

2022 Ontario general election: Toronto—Danforth
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticPeter Tabuns22,89055.39−8.85$112,989
LiberalMary Fragedakis9,24022.36+8.29$77,403
Progressive ConservativeColleen McCleery5,55613.44−2.41$18,446
GreenMarcelo Levy2,5136.08+1.70$4,531
New BlueMilton Kandias5151.25 $9,594
Ontario PartyGeorge Simopoulos2320.56 $0
None of the AboveChristopher Brophy2010.49 $0
CommunistJennifer Moxon1770.43+0.10$0
Total valid votes/expense limit 41,32499.41+0.38$117,719
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 2440.59−0.38
Turnout 41,56849.44−12.14
Eligible voters 83,888
New Democratic hold Swing −8.57
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.
2018 Toronto municipal election, Ward 14 Toronto—Danforth
Candidate Votes Vote share
Paula Fletcher 16,468 42.27%
Mary Fragedakis 10,201 26.18%
Chris Budo 7,394 18.98%
Lanrick Bennett 1,935 4.97%
Dixon Chan 1,100 2.82%
Chris Marinakis 700 1.80%
Marisol D'Andrea 429 1.10%
Ryan Lindsay 413 1.06%
Lawrence Lychowyd 188 0.48%
Alexander Pena 131 0.34%
Total 38,958 100%
Source: City of Toronto
2014 Toronto election, Ward 29
Candidate Votes %
Mary Fragedakis11,90459.34%
Dave Andre4,95024.68%
John Papadakis2,0009.97%
Ricardo Francis5282.63%
Jimmy Vlachos4282.13%
Hank Martyn2491.24%
Total20,059100%
2010 Toronto election, Ward 29
Candidate Votes %
Mary Fragedakis7,43041.81%
Jane Pitfield4,96627.94%
Jennifer Wood4,26924.02%
Chris Caldwell8854.98%
John Richardson1380.77%
Mike Restivo810.45%
Total17,769100%

Source: City of Toronto.

References

  1. ↑ "City hall rookies 2010: Mary Fragedakis, Ward 29". Toronto Star. November 25, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Habibinia, Mahdis (August 21, 2026). "Toronto councillor swaps wards as registration closes for Ontario municipal candidates". CBC. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Councillor Mary Fragedakis". City of Toronto. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Changed council faces new mayor". Toronto Star. October 25, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Rating the races". Now. September 2, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Mary Fragedakis wins Ward 29 Toronto-Danforth". Global News. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Councillor Fragedakis joins TTC Board". Toronto Transit Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  8. ↑ "$80M TTC budget hike not quite at 'record' level". Toronto Star. February 16, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Toronto 2018 budget: council approves spending plan but nixes vehicle tax proposals". CBC News.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Codi (November 16, 2017). "Mayor, 2 city councillors push for time-based transfers on TTC for PRESTO users". CP24. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Toronto election 2018: Ward 14 Toronto–Danforth". Global News. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Ford Fallout: "Being a councillor now is like watching from afar with fingers crossed"". Toronto Life. December 18, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Danforth businesses warn of 'collapse' without rent programs in place for November". Toronto Star. October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  14. ↑ Nickle, David (May 19, 2020). "Businesses on Danforth approach reopening with caution". Toronto.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  15. ↑ Nickle, David (January 6, 2021). "Former councillor Mary Fragedakis seeks Toronto-Danforth Liberal nomination". Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Liberals name Mary Fragedakis as candidate for provincial riding of Toronto-Danforth". Beach Metro Community News. March 18, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  17. ↑ Torstar Open Data Team. "NDP Peter Tabuns is re-elected in Toronto—Danforth". Toronto.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Toronto City Clerk's Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2018.
  19. ↑ "City of Toronto elections page". City of Toronto. Archived from the original on October 26, 2010.