Olivia Chow re-elected Toronto mayor, wins first full term

Olivia Chow was re-elected mayor of Toronto, Canada's largest city, in the municipal election held on Monday, October 26, 2026. With 99.2% of polls reporting, projections gave her about 54.2% of the vote against 41.1% for her main challenger, city councillor Brad Bradford. Chow was first elected in a 2023 by-election, so this victory gives her a first full term as mayor. Bradford had taken a slight lead in the earliest counts before Chow moved ahead.

Toronto is Canada's biggest city and one of the largest city governments in North America. Its mayor oversees services used daily by millions of people, from public transport and housing to policing budgets and roads. Winning a full term gives Chow a stronger mandate than she had after the by-election, when she took over midway through a council term.

The scale of the result is important too. Taking around 54% in a race with a well-known opponent, and carrying 19 of 25 wards, suggests her support was spread across the city rather than concentrated in a few areas. Winning Bradford's own ward is a sign of how broad that support was. Bradford's early lead, which faded as more polls reported, shows the race was competitive in parts of the city. For Chow, the result also settles a question that hangs over any leader who first wins office in a by-election: whether voters will back her again when the whole city votes at a regular election. On October 26 they did, by a margin of about 13 percentage points.

For readers interested in women's leadership, Chow's re-election is a case of a woman not only reaching one of a country's most visible city posts but holding it when voters had a direct choice. Incumbency matters for any leader: those who win re-election get the time to complete long projects, such as transit lines and housing programmes, that rarely finish in a single short term.

Toronto also matters to India. The Greater Toronto Area is home to a large Indian-origin community, and municipal decisions on housing, transport and public services shape daily life for many Indian students, workers and families who have moved there. The same night, voters across the region, including in Brampton and Mississauga, also elected their local councils.

Short-term: Chow begins a new term with a clear majority of the vote and a new city council. Final certified results are expected after election night.

Long-term: A full term gives her room to push longer-term plans on housing, transit and the city budget, and to be judged on them at the next election.

Who is affected: Toronto residents, including the large Indian-origin community and international students; city workers; and businesses that depend on city decisions on transport, permits and taxes.

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