---
title: "Olivia Chow pledges to start construction on 10,000 rental homes in 2027"
description: "Mayor Olivia Chow says she will begin construction on 10,000 new rental homes in 2027 if re-elected, building on 60 housing projects already under way."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/news/olivia-chow-10000-rental-homes-october-8"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:10:29.685Z"
---

Mayor [Olivia Chow](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow) said on October 8 that she would have construction begin on 10,000 new rental homes in 2027 if she is re-elected on October 26. The announcement came as advance voting opened across Toronto on October 6.

Chow's campaign told CP24 that 60 housing projects are currently under construction in the city, and that those projects will deliver 16,000 rental homes when complete. These figures come from the campaign and have not been independently verified.

## What the plan includes

The campaign says $1.5 billion in provincial and federal funding was secured in spring 2026 to cut development charges on new rental buildings by up to 60 per cent. The City has also put $1.2 billion from its own operating and capital budgets toward developer cost offsets, according to the campaign.

To qualify for those cost reductions, a project must begin construction within 12 months of approval, the campaign says.

Chow's stated goal is 65,000 homes by 2030, with at least 20 per cent designated as affordable units. The campaign has not published a breakdown showing how the 65,000 figure would be reached.

"For too many people, a home here is slipping out of reach," Chow said on October 8, according to CP24. "If you're a nurse, a teacher, a construction worker, a PSW, you should be able to afford to live here."

## Ballot confusion

At the same event, Chow raised concern about another mayoral candidate with the same last name. Braeden Chow appears at position eight on the mayoral ballot; Olivia Chow is at position nine. She told CP24 that her campaign is worried non-English speakers may mark the wrong name. She said she almost picked the wrong name herself when testing an advance polling station.

Braeden Chow has said publicly he has no financial backing and no campaign funds.

With 18 days until voting day, Chow's campaign framed the ballot mix-up as a real risk in a close race. Voters can review all mayoral candidates at [/on/toronto-2026/candidates#mayor](/on/toronto-2026/candidates#mayor) before going to the polls. Advance voting continues through October 11.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/on/toronto-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.