Dianne Saxe

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Dianne Saxe is a Canadian lawyer and politician who represents Ward 11 University—Rosedale on Toronto City Council. She has served since November 15, 2022, and sits on the Infrastructure and Environment Committee as well as the boards of the Toronto Transit Commission and Toronto Hydro. She is an Independent and previously served as Deputy Leader of the Ontario Green Party from 2020 to 2022.

Before politics, Saxe was a leading environmental lawyer. She studied at Osgoode Hall Law School, earning an LL.B. in 1974 and a Ph.D. in law in 1991, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1976. She ran an environmental law practice for 25 years and, in 2014, represented the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in a $115 million claim over Ontario’s Blue Box program.

Saxe was appointed the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in 2015, an independent watchdog who published annual reports on energy, environmental protection, and climate change. In 2018 the PC government announced plans to abolish the office, and the position effectively ended in 2019 when the Environmental Bill of Rights was amended.

After leaving the role, Saxe restarted her climate-focused law practice, SaxeFacts. She also worked as a McMurtry Clinical Fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School (2019–2020), a senior fellow at Massey College, and an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto School of the Environment. She hosts the Green Economy Heroes podcast and supports youth climate activism in Toronto.

In 2022 she ran for the Green Party of Ontario in Province’s University—Rosedale riding and finished fourth. She then ran for Toronto city council in Ward 11 as an independent and won with about 35% of the vote, taking office in November 2022. On council, she has focused on housing, mobility, climate policy, and city infrastructure.

Dianne Saxe was born Dianne Marie Shulman in Toronto on November 27, 1952, to Gloria Bossin and Morton Shulman, a former chief coroner and Ontario MPP. She was married to Stewart Saxe from 1972 until his death in 2014, and they have two daughters, Rebecca Saxe—an MIT neuroscience professor—and Shoshanna Saxe, a University of Toronto civil engineering professor.