Candidate for Mayor · Toronto

Olivia Chow

Mayor of Toronto (since 2023)

Incumbent Well documented

Background

Mayor of Toronto since the 2023 by-election. Previously a school trustee, Toronto city councillor and NDP Member of Parliament; placed third in the 2014 mayoral race. 1

Pledges to keep property-tax increases "at or around" the rate of inflation if re-elected. 2 3
Campaigning on keeping TTC fares frozen in 2027 and adding a weekly ride cap (free rides after 10 paid trips). 4
Stated priorities: transit, affordable housing, hiring frontline workers (paramedics, police), speeding Gardiner construction, and reducing homeless encampments. 1

Attributed to cited sources, not our judgement.

Froze TTC fares and introduced fare capping; TTC budget increases totalled $451.2M over three years, per The Local. 1
Expanded the school food program to 764 schools, extended library hours, and made the Toronto Community Crisis Service permanent and citywide. 1
Her campaign says the city secured $15B from other governments and regained an AA+ credit rating after a post-pandemic budget gap. 2
Negotiated an Ontario Place agreement that secured up to $1.2B in provincial operating funding over three years. 1

According to CBC and CityNews, property taxes rose 9.5% (2024), 6.9% (2025) and 2.2% (2026); rivals Bradford and Alexander said her inflation pledge is not credible after increases of roughly 18–20% over three years. 2 3
According to CBC, rivals at the first debate argued the TTC is unsafe and unreliable and questioned why she won't sit on the police board; she responded that crime statistics have fallen. 5
According to CBC, she declined to attend a Jewish Lawyers of Canada event and Chris Alexander said Jewish Torontonians feel neglected; Chow said antisemitism is unacceptable and that she has worked with police on it. 5
According to The Local, she backed a 2025 'bubble zone' bylaw that some critics saw as restricting protest, and she has also been criticized by pro-Israel groups. 1

Profile last reviewed October 1, 2026. Positives and concerns are summaries of what the cited sources report, not this site's views.