Chow and Bradford clash in final Toronto mayoral debate before Oct. 26 vote

Incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow and Beaches-East York councillor Brad Bradford met in their final debate on Thursday night, hosted by CP24, ahead of Toronto’s Oct. 26 mayoral election. The candidates clashed over housing affordability, property taxes and water services.

Bradford criticized Chow’s pledge to build 65,000 purpose-built homes by 2030, noting she has delivered only 1,500 units so far and suggesting it could take 115 years to meet the target at the current pace. Chow responded that she has improved housing approvals by 80 per cent and accused Bradford of slowing development by voting to raise development charges while chairing the Housing and Planning Committee from 2022 to 2023.

“Unfortunately, housing starts have cratered. We have the lowest amount of housing starts in the past 30 years.”

On taxes, Chow said she plans to keep property tax increases around the rate of inflation. Bradford proposed cutting water bills by 25 per cent and insisted his plan would keep water publicly owned, while Chow raised concerns about potential privatization.

Chow also accused Bradford of neglecting his councillor duties during the campaign, citing resident concerns at 500 Dawes. Bradford rejected the criticism.

Polls show a tightening race. A Liaison Strategies survey of 1,000 Toronto residents conducted Oct. 18–19 found Bradford at 49 per cent and Chow at 47 per cent, within a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.

Fifty-three candidates appear on the ballot, including Chris Alexander, who dropped out earlier this month but remained listed because his announcement came too late to remove his name. Municipal elections across Ontario take place on Monday.