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Jaye Robinson being treated for breast cancer

Don Valley West councillor Jaye Robinson has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing an “extensive treatment plan,” she announced this morning.

She made the announcement in a statement released on Twitter and on her website at about 8 a.m. today.

“Over the coming months, I will need to take time away from City Hall to focus on my health,” she said. “I have an exceptional and experienced team and together we will continue to serve the residents of Ward 15 and Toronto.”

Robinson said she would continue her work as chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, a position she has held since being appointed to it by city council in December 2018.


Mayor John Tory and city councillors were among the many figures who offered Robinson support and good wishes online in the hours immediately after the announcement.

“I know I speak for all members of council, when I say we are all praying for Councillor @JayeRobinson’s recovery from this illness and we hope to see her back at City Hall very soon,” Tory tweeted.

A statement from the mayor said, “In my discussions with Jaye over the last week, I have her found her spirits are high and she knows she has a strong team around her.”

Tory called her “one of the toughest and most determined city councillors at City Hall” and said her strength and grit would serve her well during her treatment.”

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Rob Oliphant, newly re-elected MP for Don Valley West, offered wishes “for a quick return to health for my colleague in Don Valley West and my personal friend, Jaye Robinson.”

Premier Doug Ford, who served on city council with Robinson tweeted: “Praying for my former colleague @JayeRobinson while she focuses on her health, we hope you can return to serving Torontonians soon.”

Robinson was first elected to city hall in 2010 to Ward 25 Don Valley West, re-elected in 2014, and then re-elected in 2018 to the new Ward 15 Don Valley West, which was twice as big as her previous ward.

Before her political life she worked for the city for 20 years as director of events with the Economic Development Division, and she is credited with helping organize Nuit Blanche.

Robinson lives in the ward with her husband and three sons.