Toronto mayoral race narrows as incumbent Olivia Chow faces challenger Brad Bradford
Incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow and city councillor Brad Bradford are locked in a close contest for Toronto's mayoralty, with the outcome expected to hinge on voter turnout and ground-campaign efforts.
Toronto voters will decide the city’s next mayor on Monday as incumbent Olivia Chow and challenger Brad Bradford compete in a race described by pollsters as too close to call. Bradford, a former city planner who has served on council since 2018, previously captured just over one percent of the vote in his 2022 mayoral bid. Chow, who won a 2023 by-election after the resignation of John Tory, would become the first incumbent to lose since the city’s 1998 amalgamation if she is defeated.
Liaison Strategies pollster David Valentin said the result may depend on turnout, particularly among downtown residents who have tended to support Chow, and on whether Bradford’s door-to-door canvass can outpace Chow’s established get-out-the-vote operation. > "For me, the question really is, does he have the machine? Does he have the people power to get this done?" Valentin added.
Chow’s administration has faced a $1.8 billion budget shortfall, implemented two property-tax increases and secured a multibillion-dollar financial arrangement with Premier Doug Ford that transferred the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province. Her campaign pledges include modest fare reductions for frequent transit users, free school lunches and property-tax adjustments aligned with inflation.
Bradford, 40, campaigns on freezing property taxes, conducting a line-by-line review of city spending and eliminating the land-transfer tax on homes priced under $1.1 million. He also proposes hiring 1,000 additional police officers and restructuring the Toronto Water department into a publicly owned corporation to finance pipe replacements with debt, which he says would cut water bills by about 25 percent. > "The criticism is misinformation and scare tactics," Bradford told Chow during the final televised debate.
Both candidates have drawn criticism over various issues, including Chow’s handling of homelessness and drug-related concerns, and Bradford’s past support for bike lanes despite recent opposition to a provincial removal of a west-end lane. The mayoral contest unfolds alongside other municipal races across Ontario, some of which also feature tight incumbent battles.