Lisa Douglas came to city hall on Friday to send Premier Doug Ford a message: “Hands off Toronto elections.”

Those were the words on a sign the Toronto resident held up, as she joined hundreds of protesters speaking out against the premier’s plan to cut the size of city council almost by half.

“What he’s doing is outrageous,” Douglas said. “Doug Ford cannot rush these changes in the middle of a civic election.”

As Toronto residents and community advocates gathered outside city hall Friday evening, inside its walls city council debated various emergency motions in reaction to Ford’s plan.

With municipal elections less than three months away, Ford caught the city off guard by announcing he’d be slashing the number of councillors to 25 from 47.

Ford also announced the cancellation of elections for regional chairs in the GTA regions of Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka.

“No one has ever said to me: ‘Doug, we need more politicians,’” Ford said in justifying the sweeping changes.

These protesters apparently did not agree.

Jack Fallon said the changes are simply a “revenge, payback move” that Ford is imposing on a city that didn’t vote for him to be mayor.

“This really feels like an affront to democracy,” he said. “The man didn’t even win the popular vote in his own party. It’s absurd that now he has power over Toronto.”

Reducing the size of city council to a significantly smaller number would negatively affect how the city functions, said Matthew Canaran, another protester.

“As a resident, I love the access we have to our councillors. I don’t want to lose that,” he said. “But fewer representatives is going to mean less access to services, too.”

Maggi Redmonds, another protester, said she was shocked by Ford’s announcement. She said the city has done extensive research and consultations over the years to come up with new ward boundaries and the number of their respective representations.

“And now he comes and throws all that away with just a stroke of a pen. It’s unacceptable,” she said.

NDP Leader Andrea Howarth, a number of sitting MPPs and city councillors as well as candidates — many of whom have already been on the campaign trail — were at the rally to oppose Ford’s changes.

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Earlier in the day, many councillors said Ford’s move will create civic chaos and affect residents’ fair representation. Mayor John Tory called it “undemocratic,” and advocated for a referendum on the city council size.

Ford’s announcement sent the city’s political landscape into a frenzy, leaving residents and more than 200 candidates who were already campaigning for council seats in confusion as to what happens next.

Patrick Brown, the embattled former PC leader who was seeking the post of Peel Region chair, moved quickly to register as a candidate for mayor of Brampton.

Former city chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat immediately threw her hat into the race to become Toronto mayor.

“There are times when we need to stand up for our city,” Keesmaat told reporters after registering on Friday to run against Tory.

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