Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow Wins Re-election Amidst Criticism Over Israel Stance

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has secured a second term in office, according to projections from local television networks. With 87% of precincts reporting, Chow garnered approximately 54% of the vote, leading her main rival, City Councillor Brad Bradford, by about 113,000 votes. Chow first took office in 2023 following a special election after the resignation of former Mayor John Tory.

Her re-election comes after a series of controversies involving the city's Jewish community. Critics have pointed to her absence from events related to Israel and commemorating victims of the October 7th Hamas attack. In October 2024, she missed a memorial ceremony for the first anniversary of the attack, later attributing her absence to a "communication misunderstanding" and claiming her office never received the email invitation.

Chow also faced criticism for declining to attend a celebratory event for Israel's Independence Day at City Hall, which included raising the Israeli flag. She explained that her participation would be "divisive" given the ongoing war in Gaza. Further controversy arose in June when she was recorded at the Toronto Pride parade calling to "free Palestine."

In the month prior to the election, Chow drew further criticism for not attending an anti-Semitism conference at a local synagogue, organized by the Canadian Jewish Lawyers Association. While two of her mayoral opponents, Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander (who later withdrew from the race), attended, Chow's campaign stated she could not attend events designated for candidates before her campaign's official launch the following day. The Jewish Lawyers Association refuted this, stating they had contacted Chow's team in early August and were never informed that the conference date would be an issue.

These disputes occur against a backdrop of rising antisemitism concerns in Toronto since the October 7th attacks. Toronto Police reported 231 hate crimes in 2025, a 50% decrease from the previous year. However, Jewish individuals remained a primary target for religiously motivated hate crimes, accounting for approximately 82% of the 99 religiously motivated hate crimes recorded in 2025, despite constituting less than 3% of Toronto's population.