What they said. What's true. What they can actually do.
Mayor · updated 14 Oct 2026
Mayor of Toronto
Who is running for Mayor of Toronto in the October 26, 2026 municipal election: how the 53 certified candidates differ, what they have committed to, and whether the City could deliver it. Information as of 14 Oct 2026.
53 candidates: Imad Abdulkadir, Bahira Abdulsalam, Chris Alexander, Jamie Atkinson, Brad Bradford, Darrell Brown, Brian Buffey, Braeden Chow, Olivia Chow, Logan Choy, Kevin Clarke, Paul Collins, Alex Cruze, Roberto Curto, Laura Dean, Habiba Desai, Cory Deville, Wincess Dorville, Laura Ellis, Martin Fraser, Alton Frederick, Edward Gong, Faizan Haider, Thomas Hall, Peter Handjis, Jack Hartley, Heather He, Mohamad Kaaki, Georgios Kalkounis, Isidoros Kyrlangitses, Michael Lamoureux, Rick Lee, Reagan Levermany, Eddie Mayanja, Sarah McVie, Francis Mercieca, Joseph Osuji, Odessa Paloma Parker, Gus Prokos, Faisal Razi, Amy Rosen, Lyall Sanders, Naomi Sayers, Robert Shusterman, Sandeep Srivastava, Weizhen Tang, Joshua Thompson, Kuo Yu Tong, Jeffery Tunney, Jack Weenen, Henoke Yohannes, Leila Yohannes, Mostafa Zandkarimi. Incumbent: Olivia Chow.
The mayor and 25 councillors each have one vote; most decisions need a majority, so one councillor cannot change a by-law or the budget alone.
The mayor proposes the budget, can veto council's budget changes and some by-laws (two-thirds of council overrides), and can pass by-laws on provincial priorities with one-third support.
Council sets property tax, the budget, zoning and by-laws, and runs services such as roads, parks, water, shelters and libraries.
Developers can appeal planning decisions to the Ontario Land Tribunal, a provincial body council cannot overrule; since 2024 most residents cannot appeal.
The Province decides rent control and evictions, new schools, GO trains and the Ontario Line, highway tolls, bike lanes that remove a traffic lane, and election rules.
Council sets the police budget total and the TTC subsidy; the police board and Chief decide how policing works, and the TTC Board runs transit.
Where they differ
Candidates grouped by what they have said.
Require people to leave a park encampment once offered suitable indoor space (Build Canada survey) (Homelessness)
Opposes: says the City already reviews spending line by line: O. Chow
Make Toronto Water a City-owned utility and cut water bills (City services)
Pledges both: 25% off the first $1,500 of bills: Bradford
Opposes: says it opens the door to privatization: O. Chow
Use strong-mayor powers to advance campaign priorities (Governance)
As mayor, Chow has used the powers to propose budgets and make appointments, but has not vetoed Council. Bradford did not say which power he would use.
Pledges to use them for his land transfer tax plan: Bradford
Pledges never to use them to override Council: O. Chow
Little disagreement, or few spoke: Flooding and infrastructure, Parks and waterfront, Environment, Small business, Community services. Housing splits on Build Canada questions. See Issue by issue.
The candidates
53 certified, in alphabetical order. Each card counts the commitments on record and how many are firm (pledged, or “will push for”), then shows the 4 they lead with. Counts reflect how much a candidate has published and how they phrase it; more is not better. Chips show how feasible each is and how firmly it was stated. Surveys and forums counted: Build Canada, TTCriders survey, Environmental Alliance survey, Cycle Toronto, Jewish Lawyers forum, Daily Bread debate, Board of Trade debate, United Way debate, Scarborough debate, CBC debate. Candidates marked basics only were not researched in depth.
Brad Bradford
Ward 19 Beaches–East York councillor since 2018 and former City planner. Leads on a one-year tax freeze, an outside spending audit, 1,000 more police officers and addiction treatment.
Top commitments
41 on record, 19 firm.
One-year property tax freeze for homes and businesses (◐Possible but hard; Pledges). Sources
Mayor since July 2023; earlier a Toronto councillor and NDP MP for Trinity–Spadina (2006–14). Leads on protecting City services, a weekly TTC fare cap, lower grocery bills and neighbourhood safety.
Top commitments
33 on record, 21 firm.
Protect public services; no cuts (∼Vague; Pledges). Sources
Has run for mayor in several elections since 2014.
Record
Ran for mayor in 2018 (0.08%) and 2023 (under 0.01%).
Henoke Yohannes
Basics only
No campaign website or public statements found.
Leila Yohannes
Basics only
No campaign website listed; answered the Cycle Toronto survey.
Mostafa Zandkarimi
Basics only
No campaign website or public statements found.
Polls
Newest first, as each pollster reported them. Rows marked all voters or all adults include the undecided. Alexander withdrew on 6 October; early polls named people who did not run. Field dates are in 2026.
Bradford: Pledges 1,000 more officers, police at every subway station and to take the mayor's police board seat; wants a Sankofa Square substation.. Sources
O. Chow: Pledges more youth violence-prevention funding ($28M over four years) and neighbourhood safety consultations; says the plan is to hire the most officers the college can train, 360 a year.. Sources
Housing: Chow pledges 10,000 rental-home starts in 2027 and a Bad Landlords Task Force. Bradford pledges a renoviction dashboard and less red tape, and backs a heat standard for rentals.. Sources
Small business: Chow supports a ban on grocery surveillance pricing and a tax cut for independent grocers; both would advocate ending grocery covenants. Bradford proposes 15,000 private-sector youth jobs.. Sources
Community services: Chow pledges lunch in every school, more attraction passes and weekend library programs for children; supports more home help for seniors. Bradford supports keeping school food; would advocate more passes.. Sources
Could the City actually do it? Each proposal is rated once, the same way in every race. A rating is about the proposal, not the candidate.
◐Possible but hard
A lower fare cap than scheduled: O. Chow. Decides: TTC Board and City budget.
Keep TTC fares frozen: O. Chow. Decides: TTC Board and City budget.
Property tax freeze: Bradford. Decides: The mayor proposes the budget; council can amend it.
Independent line-by-line audit: Bradford. Decides: The mayor (budget) and City Council.
Curb grocery surveillance pricing: O. Chow. Decides: City Council for any by-law; City authority to ban is not yet established (staff to report Q1 2027); Province/Ottawa asked to act.
→Outside City control
More police officers: Bradford. Decides: Police Service Board and Chief of Police.
Mandatory addiction treatment: Bradford. Decides: The Province (health and mental-health law).
More voluntary addiction treatment: Bradford. Decides: Province of Ontario (Ministry of Health).
✓Already exists
Youth violence prevention funding: O. Chow
∼Vague
Protect or improve services (no measure named): O. Chow
?Not rated
A property tax reduction for small independent grocers: O. Chow
Every catalogued commitment, by candidate
Alphabetical. Firm: pledged, or “will push for”. Counts reflect how much each candidate has published and how they phrase it; more commitments is not a better platform. Proposals a candidate opposes are not counted.
Bradford: 41 on record, 19 firm. Realistic 4 · Possible but hard 19 · Outside City control 9 · Already exists 4 · Vague 2 · Not rated 3
O. Chow: 33 on record, 21 firm. Realistic 2 · Possible but hard 16 · Outside City control 2 · Already exists 5 · Vague 5 · Not rated 3
Numbers checked
Up to two checked figures per candidate, and every checked claim about a rival, compared with official records or dated news.
Figures candidates cite
✓Accurate: O. Chow: fares frozen for a third year. 2026 fares remain at 2023 levels.. Sources
✓Accurate: Bradford: auto theft, break-ins and major crime up in 2026. Police data to 12 Oct: total up 0.8%; homicides down 20%; shootings not checked.. Sources
≈Mostly accurate: Bradford: about 1,500 of 65,000 promised homes delivered. City: 1,847 completed, 34,841 approved since 2020; the target counts approvals.. Sources
≈Mostly accurate: Bradford: Chow started with a $1.7B budget hole. The 2024 budget opened $1.776B short, tied to refugee and shelter demand and lower transit revenue.. Sources
≈Mostly accurate: Bradford: Chow leaves a $1.6B hole for next year. City outlook: about $1.5B ($1.12B plus $394M if provincial support ends), before offsets.. Sources
≈Mostly accurate: O. Chow's campaign: Bradford voted against the City's March move on grocery covenants. He voted no on the grocery-pilot item that included it.. Sources
?Unverifiable: O. Chow: Bradford was on the TTC board when it cut SRT maintenance. No cut on record; a review found defect reports fell after 2021; the TTC denies a cut.. Sources
Method: Built from 741 sourced rows, read 9 October 2026 and refreshed 13 and 14 October 2026 (polls, campaign news, the CBC debate, Chow's new plan page). TVO and Rotman hold a debate on 15 October, and CP24 and CTV on 22 October, after this update. Chow and Bradford were researched in depth; the other 51 have basics only. An agent that did not draft the page checked it. Labels appear only on facts that are not confirmed. The rubric defines ratings and strength words. Source dates shown without a year are in 2026.
Corrections: 13 October 2026: Cross-ward check: Bradford's record adds his 2024 reprimand; lines based on a reporter's summary withdrawn (Bradford, Rosen); some ratings updated. 13 October 2026: Refresh: three new polls; CBC's 8 October debate added (10 surveys and forums); new Bradford safety and transit pledges and Chow's grocery plan; a police-board contrast; Bradford's homes-built claim re-rated Mostly accurate against City data. 13 October 2026: Later the same day: Bradford's budget plan and three older releases added; figures from both campaigns checked (crime, budget gaps, the New Deal, housing, grocers); one position change noted. 14 October 2026: Refresh: Chow's plan page and 13 Oct transit release added; her card follows her plan's order; a strong-mayor contrast; her TTC-board claim checked.
Researched and drafted with AI, checked against linked sources. To report an error: corrections@spinfilterto.ca.
This guide is independent and non-partisan. It does not recommend, rank or score candidates.