TORONTO—David Miller, who rode to an easy re-election victory as Toronto mayor, said Tuesday he will fight for a share of the provincial or federal sales tax for Canada 's largest city.
Miller, who swatted aside challengers to win a second term on Monday night, said his victory showed city residents backed his campaign promise to fight for one cent of the 14 cents in sales tax that is on each dollar spent in Toronto .
Ontario's provincial sales tax is 8 percent while the federal Goods and Service Tax is 6 percent.
"It's a mandate I have from Torontonians and it (was) very important to me to put into my platform so that the premier and prime minister know that's what Torontonians voted for," Miller said at news conference on Tuesday.
"The vote was overwhelming ... and I'm going to do everything in my power to make it happen."
Miller has said the city's targeted take of the provincial or federal sales tax would amount to about $450 million a year.
Toronto officials have complained for years that the country's financial center was being fed crumbs by higher levels of government and faced chronic underfunding.
In 1998, the Ontario provincial government forced the amalgamation of the city of Toronto with four surrounding municipalities, and saddled the new "megacity" with the bill for more services, including the transit system, housing and other social services.
Miller also promised to tackle issues such as the departure of businesses to less costly suburbs outside Toronto and homelessness, both topics he also vowed to address in his first term.
The mayor received 57 percent of the vote on Monday's election, nearly double that of his closest competitor Jane Pitfield, with 32 percent. He will hold office for four years, instead of three, under new legislation.
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