Olivia Chow elected as Toronto mayor for second term in victory for progressives

Mayor Olivia Chow delivers a speech after being re-elected for a second term in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 26 October 2026. Photograph: Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMayor Olivia Chow delivers a speech after being re-elected for a second term in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 26 October 2026.

Fotografia: Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu/Getty Images Toronto Olivia Chow eleita prefeita de Toronto para segundo mandato em vitória dos progressistas Eleição acirrada registrou participação recorde enquanto a prefeita incumbente enfrentou seu rival Brad Bradford.

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleThe mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, promised more rental housing, free school lunches and reduce fares for frequent transit riders after she was elected to a decisive second term as mayor in a wave of support for progressive councillors.

The tightly fought election saw record turnout but Chow ultimately turned in a dominant 13 percentage point win over her rival, Brad Bradford, receiving 54% of the vote compared to his 41%.

Many had been expecting a far closer race, given weeks of polling that suggested a dead heat between the pair who presented differing visions for Canada’s largest city.

Chow bet that voters would accept her policies to confront a mounting affordability crisis that has engulfed major cities around the world. On Monday night, she thanked her supporters and Bradford.

Chow, 69, tem sido há muito tempo uma figura constante na política da cidade. Ela já atuou como conselheira da escola, conselheira municipal e membro federal do parlamento.

Seu total de mais de 532. 000 votos quase dobra o que recebeu em 2023.

Bradford, a former city councillor and urban planner, spent much of the campaign focusing on what he said was Chow’s failure to stem the rising cost of living and to address crime.

He told residents crime was so bad in Toronto that he slept with a baseball bat next to his bed.

While auto theft and high-value property crime have risen, most other categories – including homicides, firearms related violence and assault – have all dropped significantly in recent years.

Bradford said more police were needed, and pledged to cut taxes and city spending.

Em uma cidade que já vivenciou vandalismo antissemitas e tiroteios em escolas judaicas, Bradford buscou se aliar à comunidade judaica de Toronto e afirmou que a decisão de Chow de não participar de um debate sobre antissemitismo significava que ela não seria uma voz eficaz para combater o ódio.

For her part, Chow increased the size of the police department’s hate crimes unit and pushed a “bubble zone” bylaw that barred protest within 50 meters of places of worship, schools, childcare centers other vulnerable institutions.

Em seu discurso de concessão, o homem de 40 anos adotou um tom conciliador. “Quero que ela tenha sucesso. E meus apoiadores e as quase 400. 000 pessoas que votaram em nós esta noite, também querem que ela tenha sucesso,” ele disse.

Bradford also acknowledged the daunting odds against his candidacy: no incumbent mayor who has sought re-election in Canada’s largest city has ever lost.

Chow também se beneficiou de sua aparente habilidade de gerir uma relação política conturbada com o governo de Ontário e seu premier, Doug Ford. Quando foi eleita pela primeira vez em 2023, Ford disse que ela seria um “desastre absoluto” para a cidade.

While Ford did not endorse her in this election, he told reporters the pair had a “phenomenal relationship” and said people should “read between the lines” when it comes to his preferred candidate.

No entanto, os dois provavelmente vão se enfrentar em uma batalha feroz pelas ciclovias da cidade.

Like other major urban centers, Toronto remains locked in a battle over affordability, an issue that is expected to remain a challenge for the incoming council, where a large number of progressive candidates both returned and won for the first time, including Diana McNally Chan, a well-known advocate for unhoused people, who will be the first renter to sit on city council.