Policy scenarios
Curated analysis of contested positions in the Toronto 2026 race. Each card surfaces who each candidate's mechanism reaches, what Toronto already does, and what comparable cities have shown. Every claim cites its source.
Climate and parks investment
Toronto's documented basement-flood and stormwater backlog totals roughly 1,200 recommended projects valued near $18 billion, while the July 15 to 16, 2024 storm produced an estimated $940 million in insured damages across Toronto and southern Ontario. The two leading candidates are running on opposing answers to that gap.
Last reviewed 2026-05-04 . Next review 2026-06-01
Housing supply mechanism
Research on Auckland's 2016 upzoning finds permitting roughly doubled within five years, while research on Vienna's limited-profit and municipal stock finds new social rents averaging close to 30 percent below private rents. Both mechanisms produce measurable supply, on different timelines, with different incidence on who actually moves in.
Last reviewed 2026-05-04 . Next review 2026-06-01
Property tax stance
Toronto's residential rate ran at or below inflation for most of 2010 to 2022, then rose 7.0 percent in 2023, 9.5 percent in 2024, and 6.9 percent in 2025 before the 2026 budget settled at 2.2 percent. The ten-year capital plan grew to $63.1 billion in 2026, with an $18 billion state-of-good-repair gap still outstanding.
Last reviewed 2026-05-04 . Next review 2026-06-01
Public safety approach
The peer-reviewed and program-evaluation literature finds modest crime-reduction effects from added police, larger arrest-diversion and access-to-care effects from civilian crisis response, and population-level overdose-mortality reductions in the immediate vicinity of supervised consumption sites. Most effects are conditional on local context, scale, and time period.
Last reviewed 2026-05-04 . Next review 2026-06-01
Transit operating funding
Toronto's 2026 TTC operating budget passed at roughly $3.0 billion, with a $1.48 billion city subsidy and a $35 million reserve draw to hold fares flat. The provincial New Deal funding expires in 2027, and TTC documents project a $379 million shortfall in 2027 and a further $145 million shortfall in 2028 if it is not renewed.
Last reviewed 2026-05-04 . Next review 2026-06-01