TORONTO — Toronto voters head to the polls Monday in a municipal election that has tightened into a statistical dead heat between incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow and challenger Brad Bradford.Late polls from multiple firms put the two within the margin of error after Bradford closed a double-digit gap in the final weeks. No sitting mayor has lost a re-election bid since the city’s 1998 amalgamation, but pollsters now describe the contest as too close to call.Voting opened at 10 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m. More than 220,000 residents already cast advance ballots, a nearly 72% increase over the 2023 mayoral byelection.Housing, city spending, and transit dominated the campaign. Bradford, a former city planner and Beaches-East York councillor, has campaigned on reducing development charges and offering a full municipal land-transfer-tax rebate on homes priced at $1.1 million or less. Chow has pointed to the creation of a Housing Development Office and argued her administration is accelerating city-supported projects.Both candidates also ran in the 2023 byelection that followed John Tory’s resignation. Chow finished first that night with 37% of the vote; Bradford placed eighth citywide.Results are expected after polls close. Unofficial numbers will be posted ward by ward by the city.
