By Priya Raman
TORONTO — Mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Brad Bradford head into the final weekend of Toronto’s mayoral race with polls split on who is ahead, after a last debate in which each cast Monday’s vote as a choice between progress and change.
Polls open at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26. More than 50 candidates are on the ballot, but the race has narrowed to the two frontrunners, CBC News reported.
Polls point both ways
A Pollara Strategic Insights survey released Friday had Chow leading 55% to 44% among decided voters, including those who had already voted, Global News reported. That poll was commissioned by CUPE Local 416, which endorsed Chow on Oct. 1.
A Liaison Strategies poll released Wednesday put Bradford at 49% and Chow at 47% among decided and leaning voters, and a Mainstreet Research poll had Bradford at 48.9% to Chow’s 47.5%. A Nanos Research poll earlier in the week had Chow ahead by three points. Each of those results was within the margin of error.
‘Making progress’ vs. ‘not good enough’
In her closing remarks at Thursday’s CP24 and CTV News Toronto debate, Chow defended her record. “I’m not perfect, but I’ve worked hard to lower the cost of living,” she said. “We’re making progress by working together and there’s so much more we can do.”
Bradford argued the city is stuck. “The results under her leadership have not been good enough,” he said. “Change is always going to be difficult but it’s not a scary thing.”
Water bills and school lunches
Bradford has promised to freeze property taxes, cut the land transfer tax on the first $1.1 million of all homes and reduce water bills by 25% by turning Toronto Water into a separate company, similar to Toronto Hydro. “That is real money back in your wallets that will make a big difference when it comes to affordability,” he said. He said his plan would bring “no cuts to front-line services.”
Chow is promising free lunches for every grade-school student and a cap on TTC fares after 10 rides a week. She questioned how Bradford would pay for his platform. “The councillor has promised billions of dollars … of campaign promises that he’ll have a hard time paying,” she said.
The union representing Toronto Water workers and 15 sitting councillors have signed a letter criticizing Bradford’s water plan.
Why it matters here
Toronto is the largest city within a few hours’ drive of Buffalo, and its mayor sits at the table on transit, housing and border-region economic issues that ripple down the Queen Elizabeth Way. Chow is seeking her first full term after winning the 2023 byelection.
The Buffalo Chronicle has requested comment from both campaigns on how they would work with Western New York on cross-border tourism and trade.
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