As of late October 2026, Toronto was choosing its mayor on October 26 between Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford. Chow's housing promise was supply: 1,000 new rental homes started in 2027 and 65,000 approved by 2030. Bradford's was cost: no city land transfer tax on a principal residence up to $1,100,000, worth up to about $18,000 at purchase.
One side said it would hand back up to $18,000 of the tax you pay when you buy a home. The other asked where that money would come from. One side said it would start 1,000 rental homes; the other said far fewer of the previously promised homes were actually finished. I am Moe Asgarian, a Principal Real Estate Broker in Toronto and the head of Team Asgarian. Here is what each candidate had promised for your home and your wallet in that campaign, who was allowed to vote, and how to work out which promise touched your own life.
Who could vote in Toronto's October 2026 municipal election
To vote in the October 26, 2026 municipal election you had to be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old. A work permit, or even a PR card, did not let you vote in that election. One rule many people did not know: if you did not live in Toronto but owned an investment property here, for example a home you bought and collect rent on, then you and the person named on title could vote, as long as that person was a Canadian citizen. On voting day you needed a piece of identification with your name and your Toronto address on it.
The ballot was not only about the mayor. You also chose your ward councillor, the person who votes for your neighbourhood at city council on everything from construction to streets, parks and schools. Toronto has 25 wards and each one elects its own representative. There was also a school board trustee, your representative for the schools in your area, and your trustee vote goes to whichever board you support, such as the TDSB or the Catholic board. To check that you were on the list and where to vote, the place to go was the City of Toronto elections website, in the MyVote section. Polls were open from 10 in the morning to 8 at night on October 26, 2026.
Olivia Chow's promise: build rental housing
Olivia Chow, who was Toronto's mayor at the time of that campaign, said that if she were elected again she would begin construction on 1,000 new rental homes in 2027, on the condition that each project could break ground within 12 months. The wider plan was to have 65,000 rental homes approved by 2030, with at least 20% of them affordable, meaning rented below market rent. Whether that volume can actually be delivered is a separate story. Bradford's team argued that the record so far was weaker than the promise, saying far fewer of those homes had actually been built and completed.
On property tax, Chow said she would hold increases in line with inflation. For context, in the three years before the October 2026 election she had raised the City of Toronto's property tax by a cumulative 25 to about 30%, and in 2026 property tax went up about 2.2%.
Brad Bradford's promise: cut the cost of buying
Brad Bradford, a city councillor, built his main promise around the land transfer tax, the tax you pay when you buy a home. In Toronto you pay it twice: once to the Province of Ontario and once to the City of Toronto. As of October 2026, Bradford said he would remove the city's share up to $1,100,000, and only on the home you actually live in, not on an investment property, so it had to be your principal residence. If your home was worth more than $1,100,000, reports at the time said you would pay the municipal tax only on the amount above that. If the plan went ahead, a buyer in that period would pay up to about $18,000 less at purchase, and his team said that anyone who bought a home between the day the plan was announced and election day would still be covered by it.
He also promised to freeze property tax for one year and to keep increases below inflation after that, saying the money for the freeze would come out of the budget the city does not spend each year, which was around $100 million in the year before the election. Chow's team countered that it was not clear where the money for the tax cut would come from. Bradford answered that the plan cost an estimated $300 million in 2026 and that he would fund it two ways: stretching out the repayment of capital projects, and using the profit of a public water company he had proposed.
What each plan was worth to you
If you were selling your home to buy another one inside the City of Toronto, Bradford's plan as promised in October 2026 could save you up to about $18,000. If you were buying your first home and had never owned property anywhere in the world, then as of October 2026 the city already took up to about $4,500 off your land transfer tax, so the new plan would have been worth roughly $14,000 more to you.
If you were renting, the benefit sat on the other side: once the 1,000 rental homes Chow promised are built, you have more room to move when you look for a place. If you already owned, the comparison was narrow. Chow would keep tax increases in line with inflation, while Bradford would freeze them for a year and then keep them under inflation. So the short version is this: Chow was focused on building rental housing, Bradford on lowering the cost of buying and of holding.
How to tell which housing promise matters to you
If I were in your shoes, the first question I would ask myself is simple: over the next few years, am I mostly going to be a buyer, a seller or a renter? The answer to that question tells you which plan actually touches your life. A buyer, especially someone moving up to a bigger home inside the City of Toronto, feels a land transfer tax change in cash on closing day. A renter feels new supply slowly, years after it is approved. An owner who is staying put feels the property tax line every single year.
That is also why a municipal election matters more to real estate than people assume. City council decides what gets built in your ward, what your tax bill looks like, and what you hand over on the way in the door. If you are buying or selling and you want to know how a change like this would land on your own deal, fill out the form at the bottom of this page or book a free consultation and we will go through the numbers together. Stay well and take care.
Frequently asked questions
Could someone on a work permit or with a PR card vote in Toronto's 2026 municipal election?
No. To vote in the October 26, 2026 Toronto municipal election you had to be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old, so a work permit or a permanent resident card did not make you eligible. A Canadian citizen who did not live in Toronto but owned an investment property here and was named on title could vote, and voters needed ID showing their name and their Toronto address.
How much would Brad Bradford's land transfer tax promise have saved a Toronto buyer?
Up to about $18,000 at purchase. As of October 2026 his promise was to remove the City of Toronto's share of the land transfer tax on a principal residence up to $1,100,000, with the municipal tax still payable on any value above that line, and not on investment properties. A first-time buyer who, as of October 2026, already received the city's rebate of up to about $4,500 would gain roughly $14,000 more.
What did Olivia Chow promise about Toronto property tax in 2026?
She said she would hold property tax increases to the rate of inflation. In the three years before the October 2026 election, Toronto property tax had risen by a cumulative 25 to about 30% under her, including an increase of about 2.2% in 2026. Brad Bradford instead promised a one-year freeze followed by increases below inflation.