Story summary
In Toronto's mayoral race, Braeden Chow has become a cause for concern due to his ballot position right above incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow. This placement could lead voters to mistakenly cast their ballots for Braeden instead of Olivia, potentially affecting the election outcome significantly. According to political scientists, if voter confusion causes a mere two-tenths of one percent shift in votes toward Braeden, it could be decisive in a close race.
York University politics professor Dennis Pilon warned that such minor candidate support could suddenly spike with thousands of votes due to ballot misplacement, making Braeden Chow's candidacy unexpectedly impactful. With the Toronto mayoral race tightening recently, neither front-runner can afford any ballot miscasting issues.
Olivia Chow herself brought attention to this issue when she noticed there were two candidates named Chow on her way out from early voting on Tuesday, highlighting how voter awareness and ballot clarity are crucial in such close contests.
Written for “Toronto Mayoral Race” on 2026-10-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In his promotional photos, Braeden Chow dons mayoral chic: button-down shirt and loose tie.
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Chow → don → chic
On this day, with a Globe photographer present, he opts for black Ray-Bans, a black leather jacket and black pants.
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he → opt → Bans
He’s become the Toronto election’s man of mystery.
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He → become → mystery
With the Toronto mayoral race tightening in recent days, neither of the front-runners can afford miscast ballots.
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neither → tighten → ballots
That scrutiny has wrenched Mr. Chow’s candidacy out of obscurity.
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scrutiny → wrench → obscurity
He shares a last name with the incumbent, Mayor Olivia Chow, and appears immediately above her on the ballot, creating the real possibility of Ms. Chow losing voters to Mr. Chow, political scientists told The Globe.
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scientists → share → Globe
“It’s a serious issue,” said York University politics professor Dennis Pilon.
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Pilon → ’ → ?
“If the numbers even up, then suddenly a candidate that surprisingly gets a few thousand votes could be decisive.
uncertain
that → get → votes
His was a inconspicuous candidacy until Ms. Chow emerged from early voting on Tuesday to speak with reporters.
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Chow → emerge → reporters
They wanted to ask about Chris Alexander, the former federal candidate who had dropped out of the race that morning.
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who → want → race
She had something else on her mind.
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She → have → mind
“I just noticed there is two Chows on the ballot and there is one before me,” she said, admitting she’d nearly voted for the wrong person.
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she → notice → person
Her campaign followed up with a social media post and a statement reminding voters to mark the right Chow on their ballots.
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campaign → follow → ballots
Reddit commenters soon labelled him a decoy candidate, a plant and a spoiler – someone whose last name alone could siphon enough votes away from Ms. Chow to allow her main challenger, Brad Bradford, to win an ever-tightening contest.
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challenger → label → contest
“I’d feel bad for sure if that happened,” said Mr. Chow, who insisted nobody recruited him to the race while sitting on a bench outside the Art Gallery of Ontario and sipping a double-double.
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nobody → feel → double
“But I’d also say Olivia could join forces with me.
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Olivia → say → me
If I win, she’s on my team for sure.
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she → win → team
That’s a stretch – for a few reasons.
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That → ’ → reasons
His support has failed to register in polling.
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support → fail → polling
What’s more, they have incompatible political philosophies (he wants to fund city services through donations from the rich and train 100 police to be Navy Seals, “like GI Joe and GI Jane,” he said).
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he → ’ → Joe
He insists he’s the mayor’s second cousin.
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he → insist → ?
But, according to the mayor’s campaign team, that’s simply not true.
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that → accord → team
“We can confirm that Braeden Chow is not related to Olivia Chow,” said campaign spokesman Zeus Eden in a statement to The Globe.
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Eden → confirm → Globe
“We have no idea where he comes from.
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he → have → where
Our campaign is encouraging all voters to look to Olivia Chow, who is number 9 on the ballot.
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who → encourage → ballot
He says he endorses Ms. Chow all the same and hopes she wins.
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she → say → Chow
It’s an unconventional campaign.
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It → ’ → ?
She could use the support.
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She → use → support
Ms. Chow’s odds of winning appeared to narrow this week, with Mainstreet Research releasing a poll on Friday showing she leads Mr. Bradford by just 2.9 points among decided and leaning voters.
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she → win → voters
The poll of 1,000 people carries a margin of error of 3.1 per cent 19 times out of 20 and was conducted Oct. 6 and 7, after Mr. Alexander had withdrawn.
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Alexander → carry → 20
Researchers have found that minor candidates can pick up as much as two-tenths of a per cent if they appear next to a major candidate, said Charles Tessier, expert in citizen behavior at TACT, a Quebec-based public affairs firm and a ballot-order researcher.
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Tessier → find → TACT
Fifty-three candidates are vying to be Toronto’s chief magistrate.
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candidates → vie → ?
That’s down considerably from the 102 who ran in 2023, but far greater than other Canadian cities.
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who → ’ → cities
The upcoming Vancouver election has eight mayoral candidates while Winnipeg has 12.
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Winnipeg → have → 12
“The decision in Toronto is more prone to that kind of mistake because there are so many candidates,” he said.
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he → be → mistake
“If the election is decided by a few votes, it could have an effect.”
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it → decide → effect
Some jurisdictions put candidate names in random order to avoid side-by-side name duplication.
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jurisdictions → put → duplication
Others place pictures next to the candidates.
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Others → place → candidates
Still others place high fees and endorsement requirements on anyone applying to be a candidate.
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others → place → anyone
In Toronto, mayoral aspirants need endorsements from 25 people and a $200 filing fee to enter the race.
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aspirants → need → race
…and 9 more, not listed.
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