Olivia Chow wins second term as Toronto mayor as budget pressure looms

Olivia Chow won a second term as mayor of Toronto, Canada, in the 26 October 2026 election, taking 54% of the vote to challenger Brad Bradford’s 41%, the Guardian reported. The result gives her another term to pursue housing, school meal and transit pledges as the city faces a projected budget shortfall.

The Guardian reported record turnout and a 13 percentage point margin, despite polling that had suggested a close race. Chow received more than 532,000 votes, nearly twice her total in the 2023 mayoral election. The result followed a campaign in which the candidates offered different approaches to the cost of living, public safety and city spending.

Chow’s housing, school meal and transit pledges

In her victory speech, Chow thanked Bradford and told supporters: ‘I know we share a love for Toronto and a belief in its future.’ She said they could disagree about how to get there while both wanting what was best for the city. Bradford conceded and said he wanted Chow to succeed, the Guardian reported.

Toronto’s 2027 budget and Ontario funding deal

Toronto has estimated a shortfall of roughly $1.1 billion in its 2027 budget, Global News reported. A 2023 agreement that provided $1.2 billion in provincial operating funds is set to expire in 2026. Chow fielded questions about negotiations for renewed help from Ontario after her victory; the terms of any replacement deal were not immediately clear.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford congratulated Chow and said he would work with anyone to protect communities, companies and people from U.S. tariffs, according to Global News. Asked whether this would be her last term, Chow declined to say and said she intended to spend every moment of the next four years working for Toronto residents.

The campaign debate over costs and crime

Bradford campaigned on what he described as Chow’s failure to address rising living costs and crime. He pledged to cut taxes and city spending and add police officers, the Guardian reported. The newspaper said auto theft and high-value property crime had risen, while homicides, firearms-related violence and assaults had fallen in recent years.

Chow had increased the size of the police hate crimes unit and pushed a bylaw restricting protests within 50 metres of places of worship, schools, childcare centres and other specified institutions, according to the Guardian. Those measures formed part of her record as voters chose between the candidates’ approaches to public safety.