[4] On June 4, 2007, Soknacki was appointed Chairperson of the federal Crown Corporation Parc Downsview Park Inc for a five year term.

[5] The major objective of the term was to develop and obtain agreement from all levels of government for a financially self-sustaining park.

[6] Not without controversy, Toronto Council, local community associations and other levels of government approved the Downsview Area Secondary Plan in 2012.

[8] On February 16, 2016, Soknacki was appointed to the Toronto Police Transformation Task Force,[9] which issued its Final Report on January 26, 2017.

[13] Soknacki had been treated as a mainstream candidate by the media,[14][15] despite early polls consistently showing he was last among the five major contenders.

[16] A Forum Poll conducted in June showed Soknacki at 8% support, ahead of rival Karen Stintz putting him in fourth place among the top five mayoral contenders.