Mayoral candidates George Smitherman and Sarah Thomson asked for — and were denied — permission to march in Toronto’s annual Labour Day parade.

The Toronto and York Region Labour Council says the only mayoral candidate welcome to walk with their members on Monday is Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone.

“He’s our endorsed candidate and the one we invited … We’re really concentrating on showing people that Joe Pantalone would make a great mayor,” council president John Cartwright said in an interview Wednesday.

“Some of the others have made inquiries and we’ve said, no, we’re only welcoming the candidates that we are endorsing.”

Cartwright wouldn’t say who was turned down, but spokespeople for the Smitherman and Thomson campaigns confirmed their candidates sought an invitation and were told to stay away. The Rob Ford and Rocco Rossi camps didn’t return the Star’s calls.

Pantalone, a close ally of Mayor David Miller, is alone among the five major candidates in ruling out the idea of contracting-out jobs now done by city workers, or asset sales beyond one small green-energy company.

A Star-Angus Reid poll in April showed Torontonians have an appetite for contracting-out more services, particularly garbage collection. Last summer saw trash piling up and long lineups at temporary dumps during the five-week civic workers’ strike.

Asked if it was fair to assume the labour council hasn’t invited Rob Ford — the frontrunning Etobicoke councillor who is vowing to contract-out city jobs to slash costs — Cartwright let out a long, low laugh. He said: “Yes, you can make that assumption.”

Asked about the others, he said: “Rocco Rossi is talking about selling off everything, so why would we invite him? Sarah Thomson the same, I think.

“The St. Patrick’s parade doesn’t have the Orange Lodge with King Billy on his horse to their parade. Why would we invite those candidates?”

Stefan Baranski, a Smitherman spokesman, said in an email: “A number of individual locals are supportive of George’s campaign … George is committed to a new type of consensus politics at City Hall.”

Kinga Surma, speaking for Thomson, said the Women’s Post publisher will find another Labour Day event to attend.

The labour council has posted on its website, www.labourcouncil.ca, a list of endorsed councillors and candidates welcome at the parade.

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Last year it was Mayor David Miller who was told to stay away, with union leaders angry at him over his handling of the garbage strike.

Asked if Miller is welcome this year, Cartwright said he hadn’t given it any thought, saying it’s a “non-issue” because Miller will soon leave office.