Ana Bailão

Deputy Mayor, City Councillor, City of Toronto

Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão serves as City Councillor for Ward 9 (Davenport). She has been a member of Toronto City Council since 2010 and was re-elected in 2018 with the support of well over 80% of the residents of her community, the largest margin of victory for any Councillor in the City of Toronto.

At the commencement of the new term of office in 2018, Ana was re-appointed as Deputy Mayor as well as a member of the Mayor’s Executive Committee and as Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, one of the City’s four critical decision-making standing committees that reports to City Council. She was also re-appointed as the City’s Housing Advocate and serves on the boards of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and “CreateTO,” which manages all of the City’s real estate assets and is a member of the City’s Collective Bargaining Sub-Committee. She served on the City’s Special Committee on Governance which worked to address the challenges created as a result of the significant changes to City Council’s structure in this term of office. Ana also represents the City at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and is Chair of the FCM Social Economic Development Committee.

In her first term of office, Ana assumed the position of Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee at a critical and challenging time for the City. She had to contend with significant reductions in external funding for housing across the City among other issues. As Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee she advanced the City’s housing agenda significantly, including reducing barriers for private sector-builders by increasing incentives to build more affordable housing, and she successfully opposed the sale of Toronto Community Housing Corporation single-family homes, preserving this important portfolio while also restoring its financial viability.

Ana commenced her academic studies as a student at West Toronto Collegiate before studying Sociology at the University of Toronto. She has also completed the Directors Education Program, a joint program of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, knowledge she now brings to the boards upon which she serves on behalf of the City of Toronto.

Ana has deep roots in the cultural diversity of the Davenport community and retains the strong work ethic that has characterized her life since she first arrived in Canada from Portugal at fifteen years of age. Remembering the challenges and opportunities she personally experienced as a newcomer to Canada, she has always been a champion for lower-income families and individuals, a strong voice for women and a person dedicated to assisting new Canadians within the Davenport community and across the City

Ana’s dedication to new Canadians was manifested in her decision to serve as President of the Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals as well as President of the Working Women Community Centre, an organization serving immigrant and refugee women and their families.

Prior to public service, Ana achieved considerable success within the private sector, developing leadership and consensus building skills while serving in senior roles within the banking and healthcare IT sectors.

In addition to her work on affordable housing issues, Ana continues to be a strong advocate for the arts including serving on the boards of Artscape and the Toronto Arts Council. She has championed locally based projects such as the Toronto Media Arts Centre, the Theatre Centre and new and affordable live and work spaces for Toronto’s artist community.

With her return to Toronto City Council in 2018, Ana continues her central role within the City’s government where she is recognized as a decisive, innovative and compassionate decision-maker at Toronto City Council while remaining devoted to serving the Ward 9 (Davenport) community where she grew up and continues to live.