Toronto mayoral candidates Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford exchanged barbs Tuesday night in the first debate since Chris Alexander dropped out of the race.
The debate, hosted by the United Way, was held at the Toronto Metropolitan University.
The candidates were asked a wide variety of questions affecting Torontonians, including affordable housing, affordability, public safety, getting around the city and newcomer services.
Here’s how they responded to some of the top issues.
When it comes to tackling the city’s housing crisis, Bradford painted his housing approach in stark contrast to Chow’s plan.
“You said in the last election that we were going to build 65,000 purpose-built rental homes by 2030,” he noted. “The results are only 1,500 of them have been built – 2 per cent of your target.”
“If we continue at that pace, it’ll take another 115 years,” he added.
Chow shot back accusing Bradford of voting to double development charges.
“That’s not true,” Bradford fired back.
“You were head of the committee,” Chow said. “You created the problems you’re now campaigning to fix! Under your watch building homes got a lot more expensive.”
Chow challenged Bradford on his affordability plan and claimed that he would cut library, transit services and affordable housing to pay for his election promises.
“For years, Councillor Bradford raised the TTC fares, cut transit service,” Chow said. “We lost riders because of your cuts, and now at election time you’re saying the exact opposite.”
“How can people trust you?” she added.
Bradford shot back saying it’s time to “modernize” and conduct an independent line-by-line review of the city’s budget.
“We haven’t done it for 15 years, we probably should,” Bradford said. “I know folks at home look at their budget every week. They look at their credit card statements every month. City Hall should do that, too.”
Bradford promised to fund the city’s capital project without making cuts to frontline services.
Chow took multiple shots at Bradford’s voting record as city councillor and accused him of flip flopping on supportive housing.
She claimed Bradford voted against building new shelters in the city.
“You talk a lot about change, Councillor Bradford, but it’s clear the only thing you ever changed is your mind,” Chow quipped. “You can’t just do one thing and then say something else because your record speaks very loudly.”
In return, Bradford accused Chow of not doing enough to curb homelessness in the city.
“[We] need to do these things faster, and we need leadership that’s focused to make sure that we can deliver the housing that people desperately need,” he added.
When talking about the city’s traffic, Chow accused Bradford of raising fares and cutting services on the TTC.
She said the TTC lost riders as a result of Bradford’s policy choices. Adding that she restored service on the TTC, completed construction of the Gardiner Expressway ahead of schedule, and opened the Scarborough Busway.
“For four years Counsellor Bradford was on the TTC, the commission itself. Under his watch, fares were raised and the service was cut,” Chow said.
Chow promised to include more smart traffic lights in the city and better coordination of road closures.
“We’re going to get construction off the road faster, the longer you block the lanes, the more you have to pay.” Chow said.
Bradford shot back at Chow’s claims by pointing to the lack of safety on the TTC.
“Nobody tells me they’re not riding the TTC because it costs $3.30, they tell me they’re not riding the TTC because it’s not safe, it’s not reliable, and it’s not clean,” Bradford said.
“I have a plan to improve the TTC,” Bradford added. “It starts with uniformed officers in our stations and on the system.”
He also promised more universal lighting, “cleanliness standards”, and platform edge doors at the city’s busiest stations.
Chow then changed topics to Bradford’s record on bike lanes.
“You championed for eight bike lanes in 2023, and now you’re begging Doug Ford to rip them out,” she claimed.
“I don’t think your fearmongering is going to fix transit,” Bradford fired back. “I don’t think it’s going to move traffic faster.”
Bradford pushed back on Chow’s claims saying under her leadership, transit ridership has declined.
