Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and her allies at Progress Toronto clearly see Councillor Brad Bradford as a threat. On Monday, Chow went into Bradford's ward to hold a news conference and claim that he does not care about tenants living with bad landlords.
She spoke of tenants living with mice, bed bugs and cockroaches, but never once mentioned that Toronto Community Housing, run by the city, could be considered the biggest slumlord in the province and is constantly dealing with these types of issues.
Forget about that, though, Chow has a campaign to run — seemingly on the taxpayer dime — and the tenants and activists that flanked her at 500 Dawes Rd. were useful props. They stood there alongside Chow as she held a news conference with signs branded in her campaign colours instead of city colours. Despite being asked several times by reporters, Chow denied that it was a campaign event as she stood behind the purple sign on her podium and denounced her opponent.
Chow coy about running, but signals are there
Since registration to run in October's municipal election opened last Friday, Chow has been busy. While she has yet to officially say if she is seeking re-election, her actions and schedule say she is running. As candidates were visiting city hall to file paperwork on Friday, Chow had four events across the city, another six on Saturday and six again on Sunday. Then there was Monday's news release and event where Chow was supported by activists from Progress Toronto and ACORN, a far-left activist group founded in the United States.
Progress Toronto is a third-party political organization that acts like a party would for Chow and several progressive councillors. They host training sessions, campaign on issues and recruit volunteers to work for candidates like Chow.
Tight ties between Chow and Progress Toronto
Michal Hay was the founding executive director of Progress Toronto three years ago before running Chow's 2023 mayoral campaign and then becoming Chow's chief of staff in the mayor's office. The ties between Chow and Progress Toronto run deep, so it is no surprise that they are championing her while attacking her main opponent in Bradford.
Last week, Progress Toronto went hard at Bradford on social media while simultaneously filing a complaint with the integrity commissioner claiming Bradford took part in an illegal fundraiser. The organizers of the event, held a month before fundraising could begin, have been upfront and unequivocal that there was no fundraising for Bradford, but Progress Toronto is pushing the story.
Bradford's campaign has Chow's team spooked
Why would Chow and Progress Toronto be worried about Bradford? Simply put, Bradford is attempting to build the kind of coalition that could defeat Chow in October's election. Despite a poor showing in a crowded field in the byelection to replace John Tory, Bradford has grown since then. His organization has become more professional, his name recognition has grown and his polling has improved.
Several polls testing out a head-to-head matchup between Bradford and Chow show a close race. A poll conducted by Abacus Data earlier this year before Tory announced he would not run showed them statistically tied with 39% saying they would back Chow and 38% would back Bradford.
Drawing support from across the city
Over the weekend, Bradford was posting several endorsements to his social media platforms. Former MP John McKay, who represented Scarborough for 28 years, came out in support of Bradford, as did Brad Duguid, who represented Scarborough at Queen's Park for 15 years. Bradford also toured St. Paul's with MPP Stephanie Smyth and Eglinton-Lawrence with MP Vince Gasparro. He also had appearances with Councillor James Pasternak and former councillor Case Ootes.
While all of these people are aligned with the Liberals, Bradford is also picking up support from federal Conservatives in Toronto and supporters of Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative party. That is the kind of coalition, one that unites people across party lines, that is such a threat to Chow.
