Olivia Chow wins decisive second term as Toronto mayor in record-turnout race

On Monday night, Olivia Chow stood before a jubilant crowd and thanked the man she had just beaten. Toronto's mayor had won a second term with 54% of the vote to Brad Bradford's 41%, a 13-point margin in a race that weeks of polling had described as a dead heat.

Turnout was a record. Chow collected more than 532,000 votes, nearly double what she received when she first won the office in 2023. Bradford, a 40-year-old former city councillor and urban planner, said nearly 400,000 people voted for him. He also acknowledged the history against him: no sitting mayor of Canada's largest city who has sought re-election has ever lost.

Chow, 69, has long been a fixture of the city's politics, having served as a school board trustee, city councillor and federal member of parliament. This time she promised more rental housing, free school lunches and reduced transit fares for frequent riders. In effect, she bet that voters would accept those policies as an answer to an affordability crisis that has gripped major cities around the world.

Bradford ran on a different argument. He spent much of the campaign saying Chow had failed to slow the rising cost of living and to deal with crime, telling residents it was so bad that he slept with a baseball bat beside his bed. He called for more police and pledged to cut taxes and city spending. The data is mixed: auto theft and high-value property crime have risen, but most other categories, including homicides, firearms-related violence and assault, have dropped significantly in recent years.

Antisemitism was another point of contention. Toronto has seen antisemitic vandalism and shootings at Jewish schools, and Bradford sought to align himself with the Jewish community. He said Chow's decision not to attend a debate on antisemitism meant she would not be an effective voice against hate. Chow, for her part, enlarged the police department's hate crimes unit and pushed a bylaw creating a "bubble zone" that bars protest within 50 meters of places of worship, schools, childcare centers and other vulnerable institutions.

Chow's victory speech was gracious. "I know we share a love for Toronto and a belief in its future," she told supporters, adding that she did not doubt both candidates wanted what was best for the city. Bradford's concession was just as conciliatory. He said he wanted her to succeed, and that his supporters did too. "We all love this city," he said. "We know it can be better."

Chow also appeared to benefit from how she has handled a difficult relationship with the Ontario government and Premier Doug Ford. When she was first elected in 2023, Ford predicted she would be an "unmitigated disaster" for the city. He did not endorse anyone this time, but told reporters the two had a "phenomenal relationship" and suggested people "read between the lines" about his preferred candidate. Even so, the two are likely to clash hard over the city's bike lanes.

The new council tilts progressive, with many incumbents returning and many newcomers winning seats. Among them is Diana McNally Chan, a well-known advocate for unhoused people, who will be the first renter to sit on city council. Affordability, the issue that defined the campaign, will be the first test for that council, with the bike lane dispute with Ford close behind.