Toronto's 2026 voter turnout reached its highest level in more than a decade

Toronto drew 989,990 voters to the polls on October 26, 2026. That is the city's highest turnout in 12 years, and 10 points above the Ontario provincial average.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario collected unofficial results showing 46 per cent of eligible Toronto voters cast a ballot, according to Global News Toronto. The provincial average across municipalities was about 36 per cent.

Mayor Olivia Chow won a second term with 532,201 votes. The Trillium reported that her campaign said the total sets a record for any mayoral candidate in any Toronto municipal election in Canadian history. Brad Bradford received 404,013 votes.

What drove turnout higher

Political scientists who spoke to Global News Toronto pointed to several reasons for the gap between Toronto and the rest of Ontario.

The closest contest was the top driver. Cristine de Clercy, a political scientist at Trent University, told Global News that the tight race between Chow and Bradford brought out voters who would have stayed home if the result looked settled.

"It attracted attention, and it seems to me an important effect that that contest, which seemed to become closer as the campaign wore on, certainly had a large effect on turnout," de Clercy said.

Polls putting Bradford ahead of Chow in the final week increased the sense that every vote mattered. Community organizations worked through the final days of the campaign to register and turn out voters they might not have reached in quieter years.

Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, told Global News that the competitive race alone could not explain why Toronto outpaced other Ontario cities with close contests.

"I think the difference in Toronto is number one, there's a much stronger political culture of participation in the city," Siemiatycki said. He added that Toronto's dense and varied media coverage kept the election visible to more people for longer.

How 2026 compares to recent elections

Toronto's pattern since 2014 shows how much a contested race can move participation.

In 2014, 54.7 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots when John Tory first won the mayor's seat, according to CityNews Toronto. In 2018, when Tory ran for re-election in a less competitive race, turnout fell to 40.9 per cent. In 2022, when Tory was widely expected to win again, it dropped to a record low of 29.7 per cent.

The 2026 election reversed that slide. With 2,143,771 eligible voters, the 989,990 ballots cast represent a turnout of about 46 per cent.

Chow herself had 532,201 certified votes in 2026. In the 2023 byelection, she had received 269,372. The Trillium noted she is also the first woman to win a second term as mayor of Toronto.

How Toronto compared to other Ontario cities

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario's data, which Global News Toronto reported, showed turnout varied widely across Ontario.

In Mississauga, where a three-way mayoral race ended with all three leading candidates losing vote share, 34 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots. That represents a 12-point increase from 2022 but is still 12 points below Toronto's rate.

London, Ontario came in at 31 per cent. Chatham-Kent and Greater Sudbury were both at 41 per cent. Kitchener had the lowest rate of any large municipality at 22 per cent, less than half of Toronto's.

Siemiatycki told Global News that smaller municipalities without the same media density face a structural disadvantage in reaching voters.

"Whereas in Toronto, of course, there's such a rich and multifaceted, diverse media ecosystem, there's just a lot more information, a lot of reminders and focus on the municipal election race," he said.

Even so, he added, a 46 per cent rate is still too low. "Is still too low and is a problem and we need to think about how to increase it," he told Global News.

What comes next

The City Clerk certified the 2026 results on October 30. Under section 6 (1) of Ontario's Municipal Elections Act, 1996, the new four-year term starts on November 15, 2026. The first meeting of the new City Council is on November 18, set by section 27-5.1 of the Toronto Municipal Code. That meeting opens the term during which the 989,990 people who voted will see whether the mayor and councillors deliver on their campaign commitments.

Mayor Chow used her October 26 victory speech to repeat her main second-term commitments: improving TTC affordability, building more affordable rental housing, protecting renters and investing in public safety, according to CityNews Toronto. She has committed to capping TTC fares after 10 paid rides per week and to freezing fares for a fourth consecutive year.

Residents who want to track whether she delivers on those commitments can follow the tracker at /on/toronto-2026/tracker. The full list of ward results is at /on/toronto-2026/results.