Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced she’ll be running for a second term in a news release Monday.
Her announcement comes weeks after the municipal election nomination window opened. While she was widely expected to run again for the city's top job, neither Chow nor her team revealed their plans until Monday.
“This morning I registered to run for re-election. But that does not change what I do here as the mayor,” she said at a news conference Monday.
“There’s plenty of time to campaign in the fall. Right now I’m going to spend my time serving the people of Toronto. I registered today to say one thing: to the people of Toronto, I am in your corner. I’ve always been and always will be.”
When asked why she announced a re-election bid now after initially holding back, Chow said her team needs time to build the campaign up.
Prior to her announcement, the mayor had regularly spoken about her plans for the city beyond 2026, sending a strong signal that she had unfinished business.
Chow, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto at age 13, was elected in the 2023 mayoral byelection as the third woman and first racialized person to serve as mayor in the city's history. Her political career has spanned four decades, from her election as a Toronto school board trustee in 1985 to a seat on city council for 14 years.
That byelection was triggered by former mayor John Tory’s resignation, after he admitted to having a relationship with a staffer. Tory said in March that he would not run in the 2026 election.
Chow also ran for mayor in 2014, but placed in a distant third behind Tory and then-city councillor Doug Ford.
So, far 15 other candidates are also vying for a chance to be Toronto's mayor this year, according to the city's website.
They can expect heated campaigns focused on topics such as affordable housing, public transit and infrastructure.
Amongst them, Ward 19 Coun. Brad Bradford is expected to be Chow's biggest competition for votes. Political advocacy groups have run multiple ads targeting both individuals since mid-April.
Bradford released a statement moments after Chow, accusing her of campaigning on the public dime because she didn’t immediately announce her re-election bid when the nomination window opened.
“He’s wrong,” said Chow when asked about that statement.
Speaking at an unrelated news conference Monday, Premier Doug Ford said he won't be endorsing anyone for mayor, but said if Chow wins, he looks forward to continuing to work with her.
"I really like the mayor. I get along with everyone, I don't care what political stripe they come from," he said. "I know exactly where Olivia is coming from, she knows where I'm coming from. We get along very, very well."
Toronto’s municipal election is set for Oct. 26.
