Toronto mayor election platform tracker: Where the top candidates stand on key issues

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Toronto elects a new mayor on Monday, June 26 after a campaign that focused on the city’s toughest issues, including addressing the housing crisis, transportation and public safety.

The by-election was called after former Mayor John Tory resigned in February, after acknowledging an affair with a former staff member.

While there are 102 candidates on the ballot, seven of them are considered frontrunners. Here are the major issues in the campaign and what each candidate is promising.

Housing

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Ana Bailão, former city councillor

Incentives to build 285,000 new homes by 2031, including 20 per cent purpose-built rental housing; zoning changes to encourage “missing middle” housing; speed up construction for “non-profit and co-op organizations’ pre-development activities” and use surplus municipal properties available to build affordable (non-profit and co-operative) housing.

Brad Bradford, city councillor

Simplify zoning bylaws to deliver to “missing middle” housing and convert vacant office space into downtown housing; create a strategy to build housing on under-utilized government land, 33 per cent classified as affordable housing; streamline approval process for new housing.

Olivia Chow, ex-MP and former councillor

Build 25,000 new rent-controlled homes over eight years on 28,000 acres of available city-owned land, a minimum 7,500 units as affordable units and at least 2,500 as rent-geared-to-income units; create a secure affordable housing fund with a $100-million annual investment to protect affordable housing units and renters; invest and strengthen existing rental programs and establish a Toronto’s Renters Action Committee to advocate for renters’ rights.

Mitzie Hunter, former Ontario Liberal MPP

Build 22,700 units over six years, 68 per cent affordable housing and more than 6,000 units as “shared equity” units at 50 per cent market value; leverage all available city land (including libraries, community centres, subway and light rail transit stations and parking lots) to build affordable housing; provide $100,000 in forgivable low-interest loans to renovate or create low-rise multiplexes; waive the Municipal Land Transfer Tax to encourage multi-generational housing.

Josh Matlow, councillor

Change the zoning rules to allow for increased housing density and lower property tax rates for new apartments; double the land transfer tax on the purchase of a second residential properties for foreign and domestic buyers; invest $300-million in seed money to develop affordable housing on city-owned land, including 8,250 rent-controlled market apartments, 6,750 affordable apartments, 750 for very low or fixed income families; invest $51.5-million in a tenant support program to provide more affordable housing and advocate for tenants’ rights.

Mark Saunders, former Toronto police chief

Cut the approval time for housing construction to one year; change zoning to permit up to 20 additional units for rental or condo buildings; remove the property tax from affordable housing units in future developments and press the federal government to waive the harmonized sales tax on all new large-scale purpose-built rental housing projects; press for federal and provincial grant money for affordable housing and pursue tax incentives for purpose-built affordable rentals.

Anthony Furey, columnist and broadcaster

Eliminate the Municipal Land Transfer Tax for first-time home buyers and gradually phase out the land transfer tax for all home buyers through a 25 per cent reduction over four years; create a “Trusted Landlord” registry for faster approvals; ensure residential patios are approved in six weeks, housing development in six months and ensure that housing applications are automatically approved by city hall if not dealt with “within a specific timeframe;” abolish “Rent Safe,” a bylaw enforcement program to ensure compliance with building maintenance standards.

Transportation

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Bailão

Ask the province to take over roughly $16-million in annual maintenance costs of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway and redirect that money to fixing city services; reverse all transit cuts and reduce streetcar fares on the 501 and Scarborough SRT on-street bus to $2.00 for single rides while the Queen Streetcar and the Scarborough BRT is under construction; prohibit lane closures on Richmond, Adelaide, and Dundas between Bay and Victoria until Ontario Line construction is complete; increase and enforce fines for cars that “block the box” or lanes during rush hour through 20 tow trucks and automated ticketing on traffic lights.

Bradford

Appointing a Congestion Relief Commissioner to co-ordinate construction and minimize congestion; deploy 200 parking enforcement officers to unclog intersections and keep traffic moving at peak hours Monday through Thursday and direct infraction revenues to the city’s road repair budget; accelerate the reconstruction of the Gardiner Expressway by allowing construction 24 hours a day, seven days a week to reduce timelines by two years; redirect streetcars from Queen Street to King Street through Spadina and Church while Queen Street is closed down to leave Richmond and Adelaide streets open for vehicular traffic and maintain bike lanes.

Chow

Improve transit service by reversing service cuts and get cell service on the TTC; create an off-road bus rapid transit loop connecting Scarborough transit riders with the Eglinton East LRT; change the Gardiner East to an at-grade boulevard from Cherry Street to the Don Valley Parkway to open up 5.4 acres of land to develop upwards of 8,000 units of housing; better coordinate road construction to tackle congestion while providing more transit options to reduce traffic on roads.

Hunter

Reverse TTC fare increases and service cuts, eliminate fares for seniors and Wheel-Trans users while increasing Wheel-Trans service; negotiate with the province to eliminate dual fairs from TTC to GO and transit between neighbourhoods and fully fund TTC operational costs; move the subway start time to 5:30 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays for early shift workers; expand transit through Scarborough and North York with additional LRT and bus routes; more strictly enforce road restrictions through traffic agents and Office of Traffic Management to resolve bottlenecks and reduce congestion.

Matlow

Invest $50-million from the City Works Fund to fully reverse TTC cuts, and eventually work in funds from his new climate action levy for up to $183-million needed annually to restore full service by end of mayoral term; advocate for secure long-term operating funding for TTC; rebuild the 2.4 kilometre section of the Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis street at ground level to save $5-billion and create five acres for new housing while reducing construction time; launch a comprehensive transportation network to connect Scarborough residents to public transit routes and provide new cycling and walking trails funded partially by $1.2-billion in city money.

Saunders

Open up King Street to all traffic; expedite construction lane closures by doubling shifts in the summer and stopping weekend “clean-up” closures of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway; deploy 200 traffic wardens to work with existing parking enforcement officers to assist at high-traffic areas during rush hour and major events; offer free TTC access to seniors 65 years and older every Monday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offer additional “Request Stop” options for seniors during off-peak hours on local routes; reverse the decision on bike lanes for Toronto’s busiest streets, including University Avenue, Yonge Street, Bloor Street West, and potentially Richmond Street and Adelaide Street; immediately suspend all new bike lanes.

Furey

Halt plans for new dedicated bike lanes throughout the city and remove the dedicated bike lanes on University Avenue, Bloor Street West, Eglinton Avenue, Sheppard Avenue and Kingston Road; pursue legal action against the Metrolinx for “breach of contract and damages over mismanagement of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT”; reopen King Street to through traffic and temporarily close the Adelaide and Richmond bike lanes for the duration of the Queen Street construction; review closures of major thoroughfares such as the Don Valley Parkway and Lakeshore Blvd. for cycling and other events; no construction on the eastern section of the Gardiner Expressway.

Poverty and addiction

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Bailão

Expand the Dufferin Grove pilot project city-wide, creating pathways out of homelessness and establish a specialized anti-displacement and evictions prevention unit; expand the Toronto Community Crisis Service to cover the entire city, connecting people in crisis with trained mental health professionals; provide access to vacant city spaces for food banks, launch an annual food drive from the mayor’s office and push national grocery chains to donate food instead of discarding it.

Bradford

Focus on a “housing-first” approach; zero tolerance for homeless encampments; combine existing city programs such as Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams, the Multi-Disciplinary Outreach Program, Streets to Homes, the Toronto Community Crisis Service and FOCUS Toronto; work with front-line service providers to improve operations of existing consumption sites and expand treatment services.

Chow

$14.6-million for 1,000 new rent supplements to help households experiencing homelessness exit the shelter system, advocate for the provincial and federal governments to match that investment; $5-million to create new 24/7 respite spaces for access to resources and critical services, including women’s drop-in spaces and warming and cooling places; create a new $5-million fund working in partnership with community agencies, housing organizations and people with lived experience to expand street outreach, wrap-around support services, drop-in programming and additional shelter options.

Hunter

Add 400 new shelter beds to address over-capacity and open 24/7 warming and cooling centres year-round; double the capacity of street outreach programs for those experiencing homelessness, create 2,000 new supportive homes with permanent funding, increase eviction prevention services and add five new house outreach program collaborative teams for youth; relaunch Toronto’s mental health support strategy and create a more comprehensive long-term mental-health and addiction strategy to increase community service partnerships.

Matlow

$30-million annually to create 2,000 new rent supplements and expand the qualifying criteria to help more people who are homeless transition into full-time, stable housing; $5-million to open a year-round respite service instead of opening warming centres during extreme cold weather and $15-million to improve standards in the city’s shelter network; $5-million a year to increase funding to the Toronto Drop-in Network; and support the decriminalization of illicit drugs for personal use and supervised-injection sites while advocating for the implementation of appropriate wraparound supports and services.

Saunders

Adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward needle disposal outside of supervised-injection sites, by strengthening standards and expectations of cleanliness within funding and operating agreements with facilities; establish a formal working group with key service providers and experts to understand how to best lead drug users to treatment, as opposed to continuing a cycle of addiction; and develop a wrap-around services strategy that recognizes a continuum of care between the City, Toronto Public Health and the network of community service providers so clients can easily and seamlessly access specific supports.

Furey

Halt the planned creation of two new supervised-injection sites and instead redirect resources to creating drug treatment facilities; work with the provincial health officials, Toronto Public Health and the Toronto Police Service to push for more mandatory treatment; remove tent encampments in all parks and increase security patrols by Toronto Police Services and other security personnel as available at parks and trails.

Public safety

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Bailão

Redeploy and hire TTC staff at stations and on platforms across the city, increase security camera coverage and bring in cell service across TTC; support bail reform to ensure violent, repeat offenders are not revolving between courts and city streets.

Bradford

Install platform safety barriers, beginning with high volume stations like Bloor-Yonge, Eglinton, Finch and St. George; boost security and safety patrols across the TTC by deploying 40 new special constables with the ability to summon both crisis outreach workers and police officers depending on the nature of the situation; establish dedicated bail compliance units by working with the Toronto Police Service to keep track of people awaiting trial who have been released into the community.

Chow

$10-million to expand the Toronto Community Crisis Service city-wide and launch a public awareness and education campaign on accessing it through 211 to connect those in crisis to a safe, appropriate response, reducing 911 wait times; further expansion of crisis response teams on the TTC and across city libraries; press the provincial government to add crisis beds across the city and the expansion of mental-health and support services.

Hunter

Call on the federal government to toughen bail conditions for violent and repeat offenders; pair social workers with transit officers to address vulnerable passengers on the TTC and have police patrols inside and outside stations; launch a community ambassadors program to do safety audits; install sliding glass doors on subway to prevent accidental falls on tracks.

Matlow

$115-million Community Health and Safety Fund to address the root causes of violent crime by providing services that address well-known risk factors for criminal behaviour, including poverty, racism and trauma.

Saunders

Increase the number of Special Constables to at least 200 visibly riding subways, on platforms and in most needed stations while integrating TTC Special Constables into the Toronto Police Service; enhance mental-health training and provide for additional equipment for TTC Special Constables including body worn cameras; ensure bail hearings for the most serious firearm offences are heard by a judge of the Superior Court, rather than at the lower provincial court level; and combat auto theft by creating an online process for reporting the theft of a vehicle or licence plate to speed up the process and work with the provincial and federal government to make it harder for car thieves to steal.

Furey

Hire 500 more uniformed officers and work with the Police Services Board and chief to enhance “beat cops” on the streets and allow for more mental-health workers to augment police expertise when needed; re-establish a visible police presence on the TTC, while adding mental health workers to backstop enforcement measures; authorize and train TTC Special Constables to carry tasers instead of night sticks, to deal with threatening people and advocate province to allow Special Constables to use vehicle emergency lights; and invest resources to achieve National Emergency Number Association standards for 911 calls; ensure 90 per cent of 911 calls are answered within 15 seconds and 95 per cent are answered within 20 seconds.

Finances and taxes

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Bailão

Call on both the federal and provincial levels of government to help fill Toronto’s budget gap; use the City Building Fund, which is forecast to generate an additional $60-million this year, to finance a $48.5-million housing plan; keep property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation.

Bradford

Keep property taxes at or below the rate of inflation; implement open tendering to save the city an estimated $200-million a year and get projects built faster; call on the province to allow Toronto to be considered a non-construction employer, which would expand who can bid on city projects.

Chow

A ”modest” increase to property taxes but no specific figure; increase vacant home tax to three per cent from one per cent on homes that are left empty for six months or more (with exceptions) and use the revenue on affordable housing; add one per cent to the Municipal Land Transfer Tax on homes purchased for $3-million and another one per cent for each subsequent bracket.

Hunter

A general property tax increase of six per cent for 2024 and 2025 for households earning more than $80,000 and three per cent to households and seniors under $80,000 from 2024 onward; 100 per cent rebate for small businesses and creative industries co-located in commercial space; and increase Vacant Home Tax to five per cent from one per cent.

Matlow

Create a “City Works Fund” by setting property tax increases at two percentage points above inflation; introduce a new commercial parking lot levy tax to raise an estimated $171-$535-million per year, while exempting grocery stores, public institutions, small neighbourhood strip malls, electric vehicle charging spots, spaces for expectant mothers, those with mobility challenges and others.

Saunders

Launch a detailed line-by-line review of the city budget; keep municipal and property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation; require all new pilot projects to have funding set aside to wind them down and set benchmarks to define success.

Furey

Implement top-to-bottom audit of the city’s finances; implement a hiring freeze on non-core services city hall staff and end closed tendering for municipal contracts; seek a carbon tax rebate from the federal government for city gas costs; keep property taxes below the rate of inflation.

Ontario Place

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Bailão

Supports relocating the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place and would use the freed up city-owned land at the centre’s current location to build 5,000 new homes, including 1,500 affordable units; push for the existing Science Centre building to be designated a heritage building.

Bradford

Opposes the relocation of the Ontario Science Center; wants Toronto to be involved in how Ontario Place is managed and would advocate for more green space access for residents.

Chow

Opposes the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre and the province’s plan to allow Therme to build a luxury spa at Ontario Place; would attempt to block transfer of city-owned land to the province for the Ontario Place redevelopment and instead wants the money proposed to prepare the land for construction to be used to upgrade Ontario Place as a park.

Hunter

Opposed to the Therme spa project; advocates for Ontario Place to remain a public space, and invested in making it an accessible and affordable place for families; opposed to moving the Ontario Science Centre out of the Flemingdon and Thorncliffe neighbourhoods.

Matlow

Opposed to the Therme spa; press Ottawa to block the province’s Ontario Place plan; threaten to withhold city-owned land needed for the redevelopment and instead explore the feasibility of a land exchange or nominal sale with the federal government.

Saunders

Supports the Ontario Place redevelopment plan (Mr. Saunders worked for the province as a special advisor on Ontario Place in 2021).

Furey

Supports the Ford government’s plans to redevelop Ontario Place, but believes the public should be consulted before any work gets under way; plans to advocate for the province to take the landfill dug out of the Ontario Line project and be used to expand Ontario Place.

City life and services

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Bailão

Increase Bike Share coverage across Toronto including the Toronto Islands, Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York; accelerate improvements and construction for splash pads, sport fields and playgrounds across Toronto – with at least one in every ward; make the ferries to the Toronto Islands free for riders under 12 when accompanied by an adult, including school groups and push Metrolinx to expand Presto Pass to the Islands; permanent funding to the Toronto Public Library’s Museum + Arts Pass with a $2-million investment.

Bradford

Permit legal and responsible drinking in designated parks in Toronto; refund application and permit fees for all businesses participating in the 2023 CaféTO program; ensure patio installations are ready by the first Thursday in May each year.

Chow

Increase funding to the Toronto Arts Council by $10-million over five years; convert city-owned spaces into affordable, subsidized and shared arts spaces for creators and organizations; direct a portion of city council’s new two per cent increase to the hotel tax towards arts and culture; ensure all 100 public libraries are open seven days a week and expand weekday hours.

Hunter

Improve libraries by extending Sunday hours, opening 16 new youth hubs, increasing community hubs, creating broadband low-cost internet access, doubling the seniors digital literacy program and opening 108 library satellites; open 34 new not-for-profit publicly-managed child-care facilities with youth hubs for after school and summer programs for teens; dedicate 25 per cent of the existing Municipal Accommodation Tax to invest in arts and culture.

Matlow

Open neighbourhood schools to operate as community centres on evenings and weekends; open up 25 schools in underserviced neighbourhoods in first budget and expand to all neighbourhoods with an identified need in three years; open all Toronto Public Libraries on Sundays; and invest $200-million in climate funding to accelerate Toronto’s progress towards reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Saunders

Change the name of Yonge-Dundas Square to “Lightfoot Music Square” in celebration of Gordon Lightfoot, who performed at Massey Hall more than 170 times in his career; waive this year’s application and permit fees for the CafeTO program and simplify future application process.

Furey

Eliminate the fees associated with the CaféTO program and make permanent the temporary zoning by-laws that allow for more creative patios to be constructed on private space – like in parking lots; push the Ontario government to amend the City of Toronto Act allowing for investment-attracting tax incentives to bring offshore companies back to the city; overhaul the Toronto District School Board and reinstate the School Resource Officer program that ended in 2022.

With a report from Dustin Cook