Brad Bradford proposes separating Toronto's operating and capital budgets to cut taxes

Mayoral candidate Brad Bradford unveiled a budget proposal Thursday aimed at restructuring how Toronto finances capital projects, arguing the current system overtaxes residents for infrastructure that may take years to build.

Bradford's campaign says the city currently transfers hundreds of millions of dollars annually between its operating and capital budgets—approximately $256 million earmarked for 2027 and $369 million for 2028. Under his proposal, the operating budget would be funded through annual taxes and fees and balanced each year, while capital projects would be financed over the lifespan of the assets being built.

"In practice, hundreds of millions of dollars a year are moved out of the operating budget, funded by that year's property taxes and land transfer tax, to pre-pay for capital projects that taxpayers won't use for years," Bradford's campaign said. "The problem was never that Toronto is poor. The problem is a budget rulebook from the 1990s that overtaxes people today to pay cash for things that don't get built."

Bradford's campaign claims more than $1 billion of capital budget went unspent, which it attributes to why property taxes rise annually. The proposal includes debt rules it describes as "the tightest debt rules in the country": debt interest would never exceed four cents per revenue dollar, and total debt costs would never surpass 10 per cent of own-source revenue.

Olivia Chow's campaign quickly criticized the plan, calling Bradford's spending commitments worth $6 billion "reckless." "He is asking taxpayers to pay interest to big lenders and keeping secret which city services will get slashed, and how big the bill will be when the debts come due," Chow's campaign said. "The bill will come due."

Bradford has previously promised to freeze property taxes for one year if elected. The mayoral election is Oct. 26.