Toronto 2026/Ward 13/Tom Cai
TC

Tom Cai

Campaign site
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Running for
Councillor
Ward 13
Toronto Centre
Days until polls open
29

About Tom

Written by Tom Cai in answer to our questionnaire, and published as given. Not our description of them.

Toronto Centre's young candidate for fixing problems, not covering them up. Fiscal responsibility and police accountability is my main goal as city councillor, while making as many reforms as possible without increasing your tax burden.

Our questionnaire

Where Tom Cai stands

Tom Cai’s own answers to the questions we put to every candidate, published as given — including, where they wrote one, their reasoning in their own words.

Five decisions facing the next council

Should Toronto permit substantially more housing as-of-right in every ward, including areas currently dominated by detached and semi-detached homes?

  • Tom Cai    Yes

    For houses, townhouses, and detached/semi-detached homes, I am happy to support as-of-right as it reduces the bureaucracy and waiting time on home remodeling and modification. For larger structures I am opposed.

When a person living in a park has been offered an available indoor space that meets their accessibility, safety and household needs, should the city require them to leave the encampment?

  • Tom Cai    Yes

Should Toronto introduce road-pricing measures, such as congestion charges or tolls, if the revenue is dedicated to transportation improvements?

  • Tom Cai    No

    Road-pricing measures are currently illegal under the Ontario Bill 162, and as much as I would like to introduce congestion charges, it would engage the city in a legal battle it is sure to lose.

Should Toronto raise additional local revenue to address its infrastructure repair backlog rather than defer maintenance while seeking funding from other governments?

  • Tom Cai    Yes

    We have to use domestic funding. The federal and provincial governments have already indicated they are ambivalent to Toronto, and as such basing repair status on federal or provincial funding is irresponsible policy.

Should Toronto publish project-level budgets, schedules and performance updates for all major capital projects?

  • Tom Cai    Yes

    Torontonians generally are kept in the dark about their own tax dollars. That has to change.

Public safety and public space

Which approach should receive the greatest additional investment to improve public safety?

  • Tom Cai    Mental-health response, addiction treatment and youth intervention

    It should be equal between enforcement and social services.

Over the next council term, the Toronto Police Service budget should:

  • Tom Cai    Remain approximately constant after inflation

How should Toronto govern automated licence-plate readers and similar surveillance technology used on public streets?

  • Tom Cai    Establish citywide limits on access, retention, auditing and data sharing

Transit and transportation

What should receive the greatest share of the next available transit funding?

  • Tom Cai    More frequent and reliable service on existing routes

    Service is the main concern of most constituents, and also one that takes the least capital risk and investment.

When there is not enough street space for every use, which should generally receive priority?

  • Tom Cai    Transit, walking and cycling

    Toronto wasn't built to accomodate cars. There weren't cars when Toronto was built.

Housing and growth

If Toronto could make one major housing intervention this term, which should receive the greatest emphasis?

  • Tom Cai    Build or finance substantially more affordable and supportive housing

    We're building the wrong type of housing. We have to introduce bylaws and zoning laws that disincentivize condominiums with majority one-bed or studio apartments. It's also high time the city put a cap on how expensive building one of them can be, as most of them go unsold.

What should be Toronto's primary role in delivering affordable and supportive housing?

  • Tom Cai    Build, acquire and own significantly more housing

Where should Toronto permit the greatest increase in housing density?

  • Tom Cai    Permit more apartments and multiplexes in nearly every neighbourhood

City government and service delivery

Which change would you implement to reduce the cost of building housing in Toronto?

  • Tom Cai    Reduce parking, design and other construction requirements

    None of them. I will increase the vacant homes tax to 25% to force developers to stop scalping renters and buyers.

What is the most important change Toronto should make to reduce capital-project delays and cost overruns?

  • Tom Cai    Prevent councillors from altering scope after approval without identifying funding

    Line 5 failed to deliver on time and on cost because of political intervention for personal agendas, and this is the case for most city plans. The end of political flipflopping will make costs a lot cheaper.

Which service-delivery model should Toronto use more often?

  • Tom Cai    Expand permanent city staff and internal operational capacity

    In-house contracting is a must. They're cheaper and usually more efficient.

Taxes, spending and fiscal sustainability

Over the next council term, residential property-tax revenues should generally:

  • Tom Cai    Grow more slowly than inflation, requiring service restraint or alternative revenues

    Property tax leads to increased rent for renters and increased tax for homeowners. This is unacceptable during a housing cost crisis.

Which type of additional revenue should Toronto rely on most heavily?

  • Tom Cai    Land-transfer taxes, development charges and taxes on real-estate activity

What should Toronto do first to address its infrastructure repair backlog?

  • Tom Cai    Redirect money from new facilities and projects toward existing assets

Governance and representation

What should be Toronto's primary approach to the provincial government?

  • Tom Cai    Plan budgets and services on the assumption that substantial new provincial support will not arrive

    The province hates Toronto. We have to be masters of our own fate.

Strong mayor powers should be used mainly for:

  • Tom Cai    the powers should sit unused regardless of who holds them

    Strong mayor powers are inherently undemocratic, as city councillors are substantially more representative of their local constituents than the mayor.

Your ward and your record

Which objective should receive the greatest attention in your ward during the next council term?

  • Tom Cai    Enforcement, public-space management and responses to disorder

Which single result should voters use to assess your performance at the end of the term?

  • Tom Cai    Improved fiscal sustainability and service performance

Priorities and trade-offs

Over the next council term, Toronto should:

  • Tom Cai    Expand the protected cycling network, including projects that remove traffic lanes or parking

When demonstrations substantially block transportation or access to essential institutions, the city should prioritize:

  • Tom Cai    Keep major roads, transit, hospitals and essential facilities operating

Where should Toronto direct its next major technology investment?

  • Tom Cai    Procurement, finance, staffing and administrative efficiency

When Toronto faces a structural operating-budget gap, what should it do first?

  • Tom Cai    Reduce or redesign lower-priority services

What is the most important municipal intervention for improving Toronto's business climate?

  • Tom Cai    Expand housing, transportation, public safety and infrastructure

How should Toronto attract major employers, investment and events?

  • Tom Cai    Concentrate resources on a small number of industries where Toronto has an existing advantage

What should Toronto prioritize to increase construction capacity?

  • Tom Cai    Expand apprenticeships, training and recognition of international credentials

What should receive the greatest priority in Toronto's public-realm budget?

  • Tom Cai    Cleanliness, roads, sidewalks, snow clearing, washrooms and routine park care

What should be Toronto's primary tool for supporting arts, culture and nightlife?

  • Tom Cai    Planning and property measures that preserve existing venues and workspaces

    #savesneakydees #rayahscafe

If autonomous taxi services operate in Toronto, which condition should the city prioritize?

  • Tom Cai    Mandatory reporting on trips, collisions, congestion and curb use

    There should be 0 autonomous taxi services in Toronto. They're entirely unsafe for human use.

Each card is one question, with Tom Cai filed under the answer they gave and their own words underneath it. The other options offered are not shown, nor how the rest of the field answered.

How the whole city answered

Registered candidates from the City Clerk’s official list, refreshed daily. Campaign sites are linked as published by the candidate; a link is not an endorsement.

Everyone running in Toronto CentreWhere the whole field stands