Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford is challenging Olivia Chow’s claim that her administration found $788 million in budget savings, arguing that only $135 million represents actual spending reductions. “Every family in Toronto knows what a saving is. It’s when you spend less than you did before,” said Bradford, pointing to the city’s operating budget growing from $16.16 billion in 2023, when Chow took office, to $18.9 billion in 2026. “Olivia Chow spent $2.7 billion more, raised your fees, took more money from other governments, put off bills until after the election, and called it $788 million in savings. That’s not finding money. That’s hiding where it went.” Speaking to reporters outside city hall on Saturday, Bradford noted that the city’s own budget documents show $135 million in reductions, including $57 million in efficiencies and $78 million from internal line-by-line reviews. The remaining $653 million, Bradford argues, comes from measures including hiring slowdowns and cost deferrals, revenue adjustments, and other changes. The independent line-by-line review Bradford also rehashed his earlier pledge for an independent line-by-line review for experts to analyze city spending across city divisions, agencies, and programs. He pointed to the city’s property tax increases since Chow took office, citing a 9.5 per cent increase in 2024, 6.9 per cent in 2025 and 2.2 per cent in 2026. His campaign says the 2026 increase was only kept lower through the use of $1.7 billion from city reserves. He also reiterated his pledge to freeze property taxes in his first year as mayor until that review is completed. For her part, Chow has pledged to keep property taxes “at or around” the rate of inflation if re-elected. “I’m a city planner by training. When something isn’t working, you open it up and look under the hood,” Bradford said. “You don’t put a new label on the old problem.” Other candidates Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Chow is holding a rally in Scarborough today while Chris Alexander plans to host a meet-and-greet at his office headquarters on Yonge Street. Torontonians head to the polls on Oct. 26.
