Torontonians want their next City Hall to be bolder. 67% say the next mayor and council should try new ideas, even if some of them fail. 60% say Toronto needs a major change in direction at City Hall, 55% say it makes important decisions too slowly, and 61% say residents get poor value for their property taxes and fees.
This comes at a time when Torontonians are uncertain about their city. 81% doubt a young person starting out today can afford to build a good life in the city. Over half of Torontonians have seriously considered moving out of Toronto in the past year.
Key findings
Toronto wants a bolder City Hall. Sixty-seven percent want the next mayor and council to try new ideas, even if some fail; only 23% prefer caution.
Most see City Hall as off course, slow and poor value. Sixty percent want a major change in direction, 55% say City Hall decides too slowly, and 61% say the services that Torontonians receive for their property taxes and fees are of poor value.
Half have thought about leaving. Fifty-four percent have seriously considered moving out of Toronto in the past 12 months.
Most doubt the next generation can afford the city. Eighty-one percent say a young person starting out probably or definitely cannot afford to build a good life in Toronto.
The mayoral race is neck-and-neck. Among decided voters and leaners, 48% would vote for Brad Bradford and 44% for Olivia Chow. 8% are still undecided.
An appetite for new ideas
Asked to choose, 67% said “Toronto’s next mayor and council should try new ideas, even if some of them fail,” and 23% said they “should be careful, even if that means slower progress.” Ten percent were not sure.
Support for trying new ideas is a clear majority in every age group. It is highest among 18- to 24-year-olds (87%, a small group of 51 respondents) and 25- to 34-year-olds (74%), and lowest among those aged 55 to 64 (54%). It is also shared across the mayoral race: 72% of Bradford voters and 67% of Chow voters want City Hall to try new ideas.
A City Hall seen as off course, slow and poor value
Asked about the October 26 election, 60% said “Toronto needs a major change in direction at City Hall,” 27% that it “should mostly stay on its current course, with some changes,” and 4% that it “should stay on its current course.” Eight percent were not sure. Views on this question divide sharply along mayoral vote intention: 94% of Bradford voters want a major change, compared with 14% of Chow voters.
Fifty-five percent say City Hall makes important decisions too slowly. Sixteen percent say it moves at about the right speed and 8% too quickly; 21% are not sure.
Sixty-one percent say Toronto residents get fairly or very poor value for their property taxes and fees, including 37% who say “very poor value.” Thirty percent say good value.
A sense that things are not going well
Eighty-one percent say a young person starting out today probably (38%) or definitely (43%) cannot realistically afford to build a good life in Toronto; 16% say they probably or definitely can. Majorities in every age group and every area of the city share this view. The strongest pessimism comes from those aged 45 to 54, 62% of whom say “definitely not,” compared with 15% of those 75 and older (fewer than 100 respondents).
Fifty-four percent say they have seriously considered moving out of Toronto in the past 12 months, and 39% say they have not. Thoughts of leaving peak among those aged 45 to 54 (63%) and are least common among those 75 and older (23%, fewer than 100 respondents). Among those who have considered leaving, 39% give the cost of housing as the main reason, ahead of safety (18%).
Among respondents who have lived in Toronto for at least four years, 61% say the city is a worse place to live than it was four years ago; 22% say it is about the same and 13% better. Asked about their own lives, 56% say their quality of life in Toronto has gotten worse, 28% that it has stayed about the same and 14% that it has gotten better.
The mayoral race is too close to call
Asked, “If the mayoral election were held today, who would you vote for?”, and, for those who were undecided, “Even though you may not have made up your mind, who are you leaning toward at this time?”, 48% of decided voters and leaners chose Brad Bradford, 44% Olivia Chow and 8% someone else.
Eight percent of respondents remained undecided after the follow-up, and 14% said they will not vote or preferred not to say. Candidates were listed in ballot order. Vote intention was asked at the start of the survey, before any other questions about the city.
Methodology
Build Canada conducted a survey of 991 randomly selected Toronto adults October 11-16, 2026, using SMS-to-online technology. Participants were reached through random digit dialing (RDD) to cellphones.
The resulting data was weighted to match 2021 Census targets for the City of Toronto by age, gender, education and Community Council Area. For the poll, the margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin is higher for sub-samples. Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Full question wording, question ordering and tables are available here.
The survey was commissioned, funded and conducted by Build Canada. Build Canada is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) and adheres to CRIC’s Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements. This survey was registered to CRIC’s Research Verification Service under project code: 20261010-BU948.
