Chow pitches re-election on housing and lunch program expansion in final weeks

Mayor Olivia Chow anchored her re-election pitch on affordable housing and school food, pledging 10,000 new rental homes with construction beginning by 2027 and a city-wide lunch program for every Toronto student if she wins on Oct. 26. She spoke to reporters Radio's Metro Morning on the final Friday of the campaign.

Chow said the housing and food pledges address the core pressure facing the city's working families. "If you're a nurse, a teacher or a construction worker, you should be able to afford to live here. And not in a shoebox – but in a real home," she said.

Her housing agenda has grown since she took office.

On food, Chow said she would expand her first-term school meal program to add lunch to all students.

She promised a "Bad Landlords Task Force" to target neglectful property owners, though the implementation timeline was not specified. On transit, she said the TTC fare cap would shift to weekly trips if re-elected.

A poll cited in the same coverage showed Chow leading the Toronto mayoral race by 6 points as the campaign enters its final month. Brad Bradford, the main challenger, was interviewed earlier in the week.