Olivia Chow launches NDP bid in Spadina-Fort York

Olivia Chow announced this morning she will run for the NDP in the upcoming federal election in the same general downtown Toronto area she represented for years, although her former riding now has a new name and different boundaries.

Chow, the widow of former NDP leader Jack Layton, resigned her seat in Parliament in 2014 to run in Toronto's mayoral election, which she lost to John Tory. Now, she'll face off with former city councillor Adam Vaughan, who captured the Trinity–Spadina riding for the Liberal party last summer.

That riding, which Chow represented for eight years, was redistributed and renamed Spadina—Fort York in the redrawing of Canada's electoral boundaries last year that will see the addition of 30 ridings in this election.

Spadina—Fort York encompasses much of the downtown core as well as the city's waterfront, a space that's seen a tremendous condo boom.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair spoke first at Chow's announcement Tuesday. Layton's children, Sarah and Mike Layton, were also present. Mike Layton is a Toronto city councillor.

Chow, who is also a former Toronto councillor and school trustee, is currently serving as a distinguished visiting professor with Ryerson University's Faculty of Arts, where her work focuses on community engagement and democratic participation.

In the 2014 mayoral election, Chow won 226,879 votes — or 23 per cent of the overall vote — to finish third behind Tory and Doug Ford, the brother of former mayor Rob Ford.