Toronto voters re-elect Olivia Chow as mayor of Canada’s largest city

Toronto voters have re-elected Olivia Chow as mayor of Canada’s largest city.

Unofficial results Monday night placed Chow ahead of her main challenger, Brad Bradford, and 50 other mayoral candidates in the Oct. 26 municipal election. She had 54 per cent of the vote as of 11 p.m., compared to Bradford’s 41 per cent. Chow will now serve her first full term as mayor after winning the 2023 mayoral byelection.

Unofficial results included vote totals from advance voting, voting by mail and election day. The official election results are anticipated to be certified by the City Clerk later in the week.

“Every person who calls Toronto home, whatever your background, whatever you believe, whoever you love, wherever you live. I will listen to you,” Chow told the crowd at her election night headquarters.

“I will listen to you. I will stand up for you, and I will work every day to earn your trust because that’s what being mayor means to me – it means serving everyone.”

Chow ran on a platform to protect city services, expand transit-signal priority for TTC vehicles and increase funding for youth-violence-prevention programs.

Her key promises included measures to lower grocery prices, provide free school lunches and build more affordable homes.

During her first term as mayor, Chow supported property tax increases of 9.5 per cent in 2024, 6.9 per cent in 2025 and 2.2 per cent in 2026. She also implemented a TTC fare freeze and secured a deal with the Ontario government that will see Queen’s Park take ownership of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.

2:49 Olivia Chow projected to win Toronto mayoral race

Chow, 69, has spent decades in politics and is a prominent figure on the political left. She first moved to Canada from Hong Kong at 13, living with her family in an apartment in St. James Town.

She was introduced to politics after working for NDP MP Dan Heap, whom she credits as her mentor. She was elected as a TDSB trustee in 1985, a position she held for six years.

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Chow was elected to Toronto council in 1991, where she served alongside her late husband, Jack Layton, who later became federal NDP leader. In 2006, she was elected to the House of Commons as an NDP MP for Trinity-Spadina.

In 2014, Chow ran against former mayor John Tory and now-Premier Doug Ford in the Toronto election but came in third place.

She unsuccessfully sought a return to Parliament in 2015 and stayed out of politics until the mayoral byelection.

Chow is Toronto’s fifth mayor since amalgamation on Jan. 1, 1998.

“I have never forgotten what Toronto gave my family and I have spent my life trying to give back. Because Toronto is a city that believes in people. A progressive city, a city of compassion, a city that welcome newcomers,” she said.

“A city that stands up for working people, celebrates our differences and believes everyone deserves a fair chance – not because we always agree, we don’t, but because deep down we understand something important. We are stronger when we care for each other, and that is the Toronto I believe in. That is the Toronto we voted to keep building tonight.”

Bradford, a 40-year-old, two-time Beaches East-York councillor, ran in the 2023 mayoral byelection and finished eighth. During Chow’s term, he became one of her most vocal critics.

Both frontrunners hit the pavement daily in the final week to reach undecided voters. Chow and Bradford were quick to trade barbs throughout the campaign, with Chow last week accusing her opponent of neglecting residents in his own ward during his time as a city councillor. Bradford has claimed Chow has failed to address the city’s traffic and transit woes.

He ran on a platform that prioritized tackling crime, congestion, cost of living, cleanliness and economic competitiveness.

Bradford told the crowd at his election night party he wishes Chow success.

“When the mayor succeeds, whether that’s mayor Bradford or mayor Chow or anybody else, Toronto succeeds,” he said.

Bradford added his campaign was one of “hope and energy.”

“This was a positive campaign, not a negative campaign because you folks are positive people and that’s what Toronto deserves,” he said.

“I implore all of us, everybody in a leadership position here in Toronto, to make sure that we spend the days, weeks and months ahead bringing this city back together, healing this city, making sure that this is a city for everybody, a city that’s safe for everybody, and a city where nobody is left behind.”

Chow said Bradford brought “new energy” and ideas to the race and thanked him for his candidacy.

She added she will begin working on to deliver her promises as soon as possible.

“Tomorrow we get back to work because an election victory isn’t the finish line: it is a responsibility,” Chow said.

“We’ve come a long way together and we have so much more to do, so let’s keep moving forward together with each other for every neighborhood, every community, every person. Let’s get to work building the Toronto we love.”