Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow Confirms She Will Run for Reelection

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speaks to media at Toronto City Hall on July 12, 2023. The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has announced she will run for reelection, setting up a contest against returning candidate Coun. Brad Bradford.

Chow made the announcement in a press release on May 25 saying that there was “more we can do to make Toronto more affordable, caring and safe.” The incumbent mayor vowed to continue focusing on her duties governing the city, saying she would turn to her reelection campaign later in the year.

Chow’s announcement comes more than three weeks after registration for the election opened on May 1. While Chow was widely expected to run, Bradford had been the only prominent candidate to register until Chow did so on May 25.

Chow was elected mayor in June 2023 following the resignation of former mayor John Tory.

Bradford, who also ran in the 2023 Toronto mayoral byelection, has positioned himself as a more fiscally conservative alternative to Chow. His campaign has focused on public safety, affordability, housing construction, and reducing traffic congestion, while criticizing the city’s handling of crime, transit reliability, and municipal spending.

While Chow has not yet announced a formal reelection platform, she has previously focused on issues including affordability, housing, transit, and community services through her 2026 budget priorities. Key initiatives included freezing Toronto Transit Commission fares for a third consecutive year, expanding transit service, increasing funding for affordable and rental housing, strengthening renter protections, and expanding student nutrition programs.

Her administration has also emphasized community safety through additional police and paramedic hiring, investments in crisis-response services, and youth employment programs, while introducing measures aimed at improving traffic flow, supporting small businesses, and assisting vulnerable residents with cooling and flood-protection programs.

Affordability and cost-of-living pressures are expected to be among the central issues in the election, alongside housing availability, homelessness, transit reliability, and concerns about crime and congestion in Canada’s largest city.

“I registered today to say one thing to the people of our city: I’m in your corner,” Chow said during a May 25 press conference.

At a separate press conference on May 25, Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered a reporter’s question about Chow’s reelection bid, saying that while he would not endorse any specific candidate, he and Chow got along with each other. Chow, a former NDP MP, and Ford, now leader of the Progressive Conservatives, were rivals during the 2014 election won by Tory, and have sparred publicly in the past.

“I really like the mayor. I get along with everyone. I don’t care what political stripe they come from. I know exactly where Olivia’s coming from ... she knows where I’m coming from. We get along very, very well,” he said. “So we'll see what happens during the election. If she wins, I’m going to work with her. I look forward to it.”

While Chow and Bradford are considered the most prominent contenders in the race so far, 16 candidates have registered for the election. Additional challengers could still enter the race before the nomination deadline at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21.

Toronto is set to hold its municipal election on Oct. 26.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.