Chow and 15 current councillors oppose Bradford's plan to restructure Toronto Water

Brad Bradford proposes restructuring Toronto Water into a separate publicly owned utility, using the model of Toronto Hydro, which became a corporation in 1999. Bradford's campaign says this structure would cut the average household water bill by 25 per cent by reducing the amount of money collected for city reserves. Bradford's campaign says the utility would always remain publicly owned. These are claims made by Bradford's campaign, as reported by CBC News on October 21, 2026.

CUPE Local 416, which represents City of Toronto Water workers and has endorsed Olivia Chow, released a legal opinion from a Toronto-based law firm on October 21. The opinion says that under Ontario's rules for publicly owned water corporations, the provincial minister would have the power to intervene in how the utility is governed and could change ownership rules in ways the City could not override. CUPE and 15 councillors including Chow signed a letter warning that this could risk giving up significant control over how water services are run, as reported by CBC News.

Fifteen current city councillors signed the letter alongside Olivia Chow and CUPE Local 416. CBC News reported on October 21 that 13 of the signing councillors are seeking re-election. Some of the councillors are retiring and will not be on the October 26 ballot.

City of Toronto documents cited in CBC News's October 21 report put the average household water bill at about 1,100 dollars per year. Bradford's campaign says his plan would cut that bill by 25 per cent. The 25 per cent figure comes from Bradford's campaign and has not been independently verified. CBC News attributed the claim to Bradford.

Chow told reporters on October 21 that Bradford's plan hands control over Toronto's water to the provincial government. She said her opponent cannot promise what the water bill will be and cannot promise Toronto will remain in control. Chow said she will never give the city's water away. CBC News reported her comments from a campaign event outside the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant.

Bradford told reporters he wants rates that reflect the actual cost of delivering water, saying the current system overcharges households. CBC News reported his position on October 21. Bradford has described the opposition's arguments as inaccurate, according to CP24's reporting on the same day.

CBC News noted on October 21 that if enough councillors opposed to Bradford's plan win re-election on October 26, he could face a council that would not support the change. Fifteen current councillors have signed the letter against it, and 13 of them are on the ballot.

Toronto votes on Monday, October 26, 2026. Advance voting closed on October 11. You can find both candidates' full pages at voche.me: Brad Bradford's page is at /on/toronto-2026/candidates/brad-bradford and Olivia Chow's page is at /on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow.