Potential mayoral rivals Brad Bradford and Michael Ford were spotted hanging out together
Will their friendship outlast the election?
Thanks to various photos captured from different angles and heights, we see that earlier this week, Councillor Brad Bradford and former Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism Michael Ford met to have what appeared to be a serious discussion.
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In the images, which were obtained by Toronto Today, the potential mayoral rivals are seen at a table in the Toronto Sheraton lobby. Bradford seems pensive while Ford gesticulates something—what exactly, we cannot say, though it seems they wanted us to know they were together, otherwise they’d have hopped on a Zoom, no?
Bradford told Toronto Today that the “close friends,” who’ve both declared an interest in becoming the city’s next mayor, were talking about the ways “Toronto needs change.”
Ford echoed the sentiment, telling Toronto Today, “I will always be someone to meet with people across party lines, opposing views and different perspectives on the issues of the day.”
Mayor Olivia Chow has not yet shared whether she intends to seek re-election, and has repeatedly responded to reporters’ questions by saying her current focus is on getting work done—this week she announced a motion to force negligent landlords to pay for maintenance work in cases where the city steps in to order repairs.
Former mayor John Tory recently confirmed he will not run in October’s election, saying he prefers to protect his family’s privacy. He alleged that potential mayoral opponents planned to drag his personal life into their campaigns.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
