What to know
- Toronto mayoral candidates are divided over whether to expand taxes on vacant and luxury homes to fund affordable housing.
- Olivia Chow and Chris Alexander answered yes, while Brad Bradford answered no during a rapid-fire question at Monday’s Daily Bread Food Bank debate.
- Chow’s campaign pointed to her record on the Vacant Home Tax and taxes on high-value properties, while Bradford’s team argued against adding costs for working families.
- The disagreement highlights a broader campaign debate over how Toronto should fund affordable housing and other city priorities.
Toronto mayoral candidates are split on whether the city should expand taxes on vacant and luxury homes to help fund affordable housing.
The divide emerged during a rapid-fire question at Monday’s mayoral debate at Daily Bread Food Bank, where candidates were asked to answer yes or no on whether they would expand the taxes. Olivia Chow and Chris Alexander answered yes, while Brad Bradford said no.
The question comes as Toronto faces mounting pressure to address its housing affordability and homelessness crises. Daily Bread says one in 10 Torontonians are now using food banks.
Chow’s campaign defended her record of increasing taxes on vacant and high-value properties and said the mayor believes more needs to be done to support families.
“Toronto is facing an affordability crisis with historic uncertainty driven by Trump’s tariffs,” said Zeus Eden, Chow’s campaign spokesperson, in an emailed response to Now Toronto.
“As Mayor, Olivia Chow created the luxury property tax in 2023, and she also increased the vacant homes tax to target housing speculators who leave homes empty.”
Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax rate was increased from one per cent to three per cent in 2023. The city also introduced a Luxury Tax applying to high-value residential properties that year.
The Chow campaign also pointed to changes approved by city council in December 2025 that increased graduated Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates on high-value residential properties. The rates now range from 4.4 per cent on properties selling for more than $3 million and up to $4 million, to 8.6 per cent on properties selling for more than $20 million.
Bradford’s campaign, meanwhile, framed his opposition as part of a broader stance against raising costs on Toronto residents.
“Olivia Chow’s position has always been more taxes, more fees, more staff,” the Bradford campaign said. “That’s why property taxes are up nearly 20 per cent in just three years.”
“Of course, the NDP mayor will push for more and higher taxes. Brad believes we need to manage our spending responsibly, focus on the city’s real priorities, and do so without putting even more costs on the backs of working families in Toronto.”
The campaign said Bradford will release more details of his fiscal plan later in the campaign, adding that Chow “should come clean to Torontonians on which taxes she’ll raise to fund the status quo.”
Alexander did not provide a response by deadline.
Chow’s campaign also said the mayor will have more to say about her plans “over the course of the campaign.”
