October 26, 2026
By Stephen Iwuh | Dalena Reporters
Toronto voters headed to the polls Monday to choose the city’s mayor, councillors and school board trustees, bringing an intense municipal election campaign to its final stage.
The Toronto mayoral contest was among the most closely watched races in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, with incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow facing former city councillor Brad Bradford in a campaign dominated by concerns over housing, transportation, affordability, property taxes and the future of city services.
Chow, who first became mayor after winning a 2023 byelection following John Tory’s resignation, was seeking her first full term in office. Bradford, who previously represented Beaches-East York on Toronto City Council, emerged as her principal challenger after a campaign in which both candidates worked aggressively to win undecided voters.
The race remained difficult to predict in the final days before voting. A Liaison Strategies poll released shortly before election day put Bradford at 49 per cent among decided and leaning voters, compared with 47 per cent for Chow. Mainstreet Research similarly showed Bradford with a narrow lead, while another Pollara Strategic Insights survey had Chow ahead by seven percentage points.
The competing polling results reflected the uncertainty surrounding the race and suggested that turnout and the decisions of undecided voters could play an important role in determining Toronto’s next mayor.
Chow entered the final stretch emphasizing affordability and public services. Among her campaign promises were measures aimed at reducing the cost of living, expanding affordable housing, providing free lunches in schools and improving transit affordability.
Bradford, meanwhile, focused heavily on Toronto’s transportation and infrastructure challenges. He criticized Chow’s record on traffic and transit and campaigned on measures including a first-year property-tax freeze and eliminating the municipal land transfer tax on homes priced below $1.1 million.
The two candidates also exchanged criticism during the final days of campaigning. Chow accused Bradford of failing to adequately serve residents in his former ward, while Bradford argued that the incumbent had not done enough to address Toronto’s worsening traffic and transit problems.
The election also attracted significant attention because of the level of advance voting. More than 222,000 eligible Toronto voters cast ballots during the six-day advance voting period from October 6 to October 11, establishing a new record for advance voting in the city.
Toronto officials said election-day voting places were open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on October 26. Unofficial results were expected after the polls closed, with totals incorporating advance ballots, mail-in votes and election-day voting.
The mayoral contest was only one part of a much broader municipal election across the region. In Mississauga, former mayor Bonnie Crombie attempted to return to the position after leaving municipal politics to become leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Incumbent Carolyn Parrish was also seeking a full term after winning a 2024 mayoral byelection.
Other high-profile races included Brampton, where incumbent Mayor Patrick Brown sought another term; Vaughan, where Steven Del Duca was running for re-election; and Hamilton, where former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath sought a second term as mayor.
Toronto’s election also featured a large field of candidates for mayor, although former federal cabinet minister Chris Alexander withdrew from the race shortly before advance voting began. Alexander said a poll had convinced him he did not have a clear path to victory, but he did not endorse another candidate.
Beyond the mayoral race, voters were choosing representatives for Toronto’s 25 council wards and school board trustees. The results were expected to determine the political direction of Canada's largest city on issues ranging from housing development and transit to taxes, public safety, infrastructure and municipal services.
The election also represented an important test of Chow’s record after more than three years in the mayor’s office. Her supporters pointed to initiatives involving transit affordability, public libraries, school food programs and infrastructure, while opponents argued that Toronto continued to face serious problems with congestion, housing affordability and the cost of municipal government.
For Bradford, the election represented an opportunity to replace Chow with a platform centred more strongly on tax restraint, transportation and economic competitiveness.
With advance voting already at record levels, both campaigns were hoping their supporters would turn out on election day and that undecided voters would ultimately determine the outcome.
UPDATE: Olivia Chow ultimately defeated Brad Bradford and won another term as Toronto mayor after Monday’s election. Chow will serve her first full term following her 2023 mayoral byelection victory. Seven new councillors were also elected to Toronto City Council, while 18 incumbents were returned.
The final results marked a significant change for Toronto City Hall, with several longtime councillors defeated and former political figures returning to municipal politics. Among the incoming councillors were former Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith, former councillor Mike Layton and former Liberal MP Shaun Chen.