Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford Lead Tightening Toronto Mayoral Race
Voters headed to the polls Monday in a municipal election that cbc.ca reported would likely be decided between incumbent Olivia Chow and challenger Brad Bradford. While Chow maintained a significant lead early in the campaign, the contest tightened as election day arrived. Voters across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area also cast ballots for city councillors and school board trustees, according to torontosun.com.
Extended Voting Hours and Polling Disruptions
Toronto Elections extended voting times at 11 locations across the city due to disruptions earlier in the day, torontosun.com reported. Voting hours were extended to 8:20 p.m. at Chartwell Scarlett Heights Retirement Residence and Country Club Towers A. Additional time was granted at Valley Park Middle School, The Selby, Aura at College Park, The Allenway, Driftwood Public School, Casa 2, St. Joseph’s College, and Wigwamen Terrace to accommodate voters affected by the earlier delays.
In the five years after Brad Bradford was elected to Toronto City Council, auto thefts skyrocketed by 157%. He did nothing about it.Since Olivia Chow was elected Mayor in 2023, they’ve gone down by 41%. pic.twitter.com/k7u75uzbne
Candidate Backgrounds and Political Records
Chow has served as mayor since winning a 2023 byelection that followed the resignation of former mayor John Tory, cbc.ca reported. That victory made her the first racialized person and third woman to serve as mayor in the city’s history. Her political career spans decades, beginning with her election as a school board trustee in 1985, followed by 12 years on city council and a tenure as the NDP Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina. She previously ran for mayor in 2014, finishing third.
Bradford, a former city planner elected as a city councillor in 2018, served as a key ally to John Tory, according to cbc.ca. Under the former mayor, Bradford acted as vice chair of the budget committee and chair of the planning and housing committee. He retained his seat on the housing committee after Chow took office, though she removed him as its chair. Bradford also ran in the 2023 mayoral byelection, finishing eighth with 9,254 votes.
Broader Municipal Battles Across the Region
Beyond the mayoral race in Toronto, the municipal vote featured several other high-stakes contests across the Greater Toronto Area, torontosun.com reported. Key races included four Toronto wards operating without incumbents, a closely watched defense of the York South–Weston council seat by Frances Nunziata, and a competitive mayoral contest in Mississauga featuring candidates Carolyn Parrish, Bonnie Crombie, Dipika Damerla, and Alvin Tedjo.
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