Fact-checking the new anti-Olivia Chow attack ads
They had some fishy numbers
Political advocacy group A Better City Toronto has released three video ads smearing Mayor Olivia Chow’s tenure leading Toronto, and we fact-checked each one.
One ad slams Chow on taxes, claiming she raised property taxes on “homeowners and renters” by approximately 25 per cent. That’s not quite accurate, as the Toronto Star points out: the figure included an existing property tax hike by Chow’s predecessor, John Tory. While Chow has certainly raised Toronto’s property taxes, her increases come closer to 19 per cent. (We also note that Chow could not have raised property taxes on renters, since they only apply to property owners.)
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Another ad focuses on crime in Toronto, painting a picture of a more dangerous city under Chow’s mayoralty. It claims that gun violence went up 74 per cent after Chow became mayor.
However, this isn’t borne out by Toronto police data. While it’s true that shootings increased in 2024, the year after Chow was elected, they dropped again in 2025 to around 21 per cent higher than in 2023, the year she was elected mayor. That’s not great, but it’s also much lower than ABC Toronto claims. It’s also better than 2022, the last full year John Tory was in office, when shootings were 46 per cent higher than in 2025. By that metric, shootings have actually gone down under Chow.
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Likewise, the ad claims that home invasions are up “a staggering 83 per cent.” Data show that break-and-entries jumped 25 per cent in 2023, the year Chow was elected, but have been steadily declining ever since. Last year’s numbers were roughly the same as those in 2022, the year before Chow became mayor.
The third ad accuses Chow of leaving the city tied up in traffic, doing nothing to end subway slow zones, get streetcars moving, synchronize traffic lights and stop construction from blocking major roads. There are no numbers here to quibble with, and Toronto workers do indeed have the country’s longest commutes.
When reached for comment by the Star, Chow’s spokesperson Braman Thillainathan said the mayor was “focused on her work to deliver a safer and more affordable city for all Torontonians,” and “does not agree with misleading the public.”
While the creators of these ads clearly want Chow out of office, they won’t get their wish for a while: the municipal election isn’t until October 26. It’s also unclear who they would replace her with. While Councillor Brad Bradford has announced his intent to run, Michael Ford may yet enter the ring, and it’s not clear who Chow’s main challenger will be.
None of the ads end with an endorsement for another candidate, and ABC Toronto does not reveal its sponsors. Whoever they are, they might want to find some better stats.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
