The City Clerk certified the result on Oct. 29: Chow received 532,201 votes, or 54.2 per cent, to Bradford’s 404,013. The margin was more than 128,000 votes. Nearly 990,000 ballots were cast. Official results, CityNews
The result gives Chow room to continue the direction she set during her first term. It is not a blank cheque: she will still have to work with a newly elected 25-member council, balance competing needs across the city and turn campaign commitments into funded programs.
Several of those commitments address the costs Torontonians encounter in daily life. Chow campaigned to freeze TTC fares for a fourth consecutive year and introduce a weekly fare cap, making rides free after a rider has paid for 10 trips that week. She also pledged to keep future residential property-tax increases around the rate of inflation. NOW Toronto’s campaign-promise guide, platform summary
Housing was another central part of her pitch. Chow promised 10,000 additional rental homes through the city’s Rental Housing Supply Program, along with a Bad Landlords Task Force focused on proactive inspections and repairs. If delivered, those measures would build on a broader city role in rental housing and enforcement. Their impact will depend on funding, construction timelines and how many units are affordable to households with lower incomes.
She also campaigned on expanding school food programs toward lunches for students, saying the initiative could ease grocery costs and the daily pressure on families. Other pledges included 15,000 youth jobs and $28 million for youth programs, including violence prevention, mentorship and employment opportunities. NOW Toronto
Transit expansion could have consequences beyond Toronto’s boundaries. Chow promised to advance the Scarborough East rapid transit line, while the city’s transit reliability and affordability affect commuters, employers and institutions across the Greater Toronto Area. For Waterloo Region, the immediate link is regional: Toronto’s housing market and major employment centre help shape where people can afford to live and how they travel for work, education and services.
The win also strengthens Chow’s hand in negotiations with other governments. Toronto relies on provincial and federal partners for major transit and housing investments, and campaign pledges can only go so far without funding and approvals. The mayor will need to show how proposed programs fit into the city budget and which commitments come first.
Chow’s victory does not settle every debate about Toronto’s direction. Bradford’s campaign put taxes and public safety prominently before voters, and those concerns remain part of the city’s political landscape. But the certified result gives Chow a strong electoral basis to pursue her priorities.
For residents, the measure of this second term will be practical: whether transit costs stay manageable, whether new rental housing gets built, whether services reach neighbourhoods that need them and whether the city can deliver those improvements without pricing residents out or overstretching its finances.