---
title: "Toronto votes for mayor as Chow and Bradford finish tight race"
description: "Polling stations across Toronto are open today until 8 p.m. Olivia Chow would become the first sitting mayor to lose since the city amalgamated in 1998 if Brad Bradford wins."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/news/toronto-mayoral-race-election-day-october-26"
last_updated: "2026-10-26T23:37:34.056Z"
---

Toronto is voting for mayor today, with polling stations open until 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Globe and Mail reports that a win for challenger [Brad Bradford](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/brad-bradford) would make incumbent [Olivia Chow](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow) the first sitting Toronto mayor to lose a re-election bid since the city was created by amalgamation in 1998.

Chow won the mayor's chair in a 2023 by-election, after former mayor John Tory resigned. Bradford, a city councillor since 2018, received 1.28 per cent of the vote when he ran for mayor three years ago.

**What the polls say will decide it**

David Valentin, a pollster at Liaison Strategies who has been tracking the race, told the Globe that the result will likely depend on turnout, and in particular on whether downtown residents go out to vote. Downtown areas have voted at higher rates in recent years and those voters lean toward Chow.

"For me, the question really is, does he have the machine? Does he have the people power to get this done?" Valentin told the Globe.

**What Chow has done in office**

According to the Globe, Chow brought in two large property-tax increases during her term. She also signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Premier Doug Ford that included $1.2 billion in operating cash over three years and the transfer of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province. The Globe reports those moves contributed to a credit-rating upgrade for the city to AA-plus from S&P Global Ratings.

In this campaign, Chow has promised to reduce fares for frequent transit riders and provide free school lunches, while keeping future tax increases around the rate of inflation.

**What Bradford has promised**

Bradford has promised to freeze property taxes, commission an external review of city spending, and remove the city's land-transfer tax on home sales under $1.1 million. He has also pledged to hire 1,000 additional police officers.

The two candidates have clashed over Bradford's plan to move Toronto Water into a separate, publicly owned company. Chow and allies including environmentalist David Suzuki and former mayor David Miller have called the plan a step toward privatization. Bradford says his plan would cut water bills by 25 per cent, a figure he has attributed to his campaign's analysis. He told Chow at the final debate that her criticism was "misinformation" and "scare tactics."

**Polls close at 8 p.m.**

Polling stations across Toronto are open until 8 p.m. Eastern time. You must go to your assigned location and bring identification showing your name and a Toronto address. To find your polling station, visit the City of Toronto's Elections page at toronto.ca/elections. To compare both candidates' platforms, visit the pages for [Olivia Chow](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/olivia-chow) and [Brad Bradford](/on/toronto-2026/candidates/brad-bradford) on this site.

## Sitemap

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