The mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, promised more rental housing, free school lunches and reduce fares for frequent transit riders after she was elected to a decisive second term as mayor in a wave of support for progressives councillors.
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she → promise → councillors
The tightly fought election saw record turnout but Chow ultimately turned in a dominant 13 percentage point win over her Conservative rival, Brad Bradford, receiving 54% of the vote compared to Bradford’s 41%.
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Chow → fight → %
Many had been expecting a far closer race, given weeks of polling that suggested a dead heat between the pair who presented differing visions for Canada’s largest city.
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who → expect → city
Chow bet that voters would accept her policies to confront a mounting affordability crisis that has engulfed major cities around the world.
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that → bet → world
Her win also signals voters see that progressive urban politics can resist cost-of-living backlash that has toppled over governments.
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that → signal → governments
On Monday night, Chow thanked her supporters and Bradford.
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Chow → thank → supporters
“I know we share a love for Toronto and a belief in its future,” she told a jubilant crowd.
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she → know → crowd
“We can disagree on how we get there, or what it looks like, but I do not doubt we both want what is best for our city.”
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what → disagree → city
She previously served as a school board trustee, city councillor and federal member of parliament.
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She → serve → parliament
Her total of more than 532,000 votes nearly doubles what she received in 2023.
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she → double → 2023
Bradford, a former city councillor and urban planner, spent much of the campaign focusing on what he said was Chow’s failure to stem the rising cost of living and to address crime.
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he → spend → crime
He told residents crime was so bad in Toronto that he slept with a baseball bat next to his bed.
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he → tell → bed
While auto theft and high-value property crime have risen, most other categories – including homicides, firearms related violence and assault – have all dropped significantly in recent years.
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categories → rise → years
Bradford said more police were needed, and pledged to cut taxes and city spending.
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police → say → taxes
In a city that has experienced antisemitic vandalism and shootings at Jewish schools, Bradford aimed to ally himself with Toronto’s Jewish community, and said that Chow’s decision not to attend a debate on antisemitism meant she wouldn’t be an effective voice to combat hate.
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she → experience → hate
For her part, Chow increased the size of the police department’s hate crimes unit and pushed a “bubble zone” bylaw that barred protest within 50 meters of places of worship, schools, childcare centers other vulnerable institutions.
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that → increase → worship
In his concession speech, the 40-year-old took a conciliatory tone.
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old → take → tone
“I want her to succeed.
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her → want → ?
And my supporters and the nearly 400,000 people that cast a vote for us tonight, they want her to succeed too,” he said.
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he → cast → us
“We all love this city.
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We → love → city
We know it can be better.”
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it → know → ?
Bradford also acknowledged the daunting odds against his candidacy: no incumbent mayor who has sought re-election in Canada’s largest city has ever lost.
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who → acknowledge → city
Chow also benefited from her apparent ability to manage a fraught political relationship with the Ontario government and its premier, Doug Ford.
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Chow → benefit → government
When she was first elected in 2023, Ford said she would be an “unmitigated disaster” for the city.
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she → elect → city
While Ford did not endorse her in this election, he told reporters the pair had a “phenomenal relationship” and said people should “read between the lines” when it comes to his preferred candidate.
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it → endorse → candidate
However, the two are likely to spar in a fierce battle over the city’s bike lanes.
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two → spar → lanes
Like other major urban centers, Toronto remains locked in a battle over affordability, an issue that is expected to remain a challenge for the incoming council, where a large number of progressive candidates both returned and won for the first time, including Diana McNally Chan, a well-known advocate for unhoused people, who will be the first renter to sit on city council.
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who → lock → council
The Aporia
