Brad Bradford dreams of a sidewalk patio system that actually makes sense

Earlier this month, something very Toronto happened in the Beaches. After receiving two anonymous objections from local residents, the city delayed the sidewalk patio permit for Tiarré’s Brunch and Bistro at Queen and Waverley, dramatically limiting the restaurant’s forecasted summer business. Now, Brad Bradford, the centre-right councillor for Beaches–East York, has pledged to change how sidewalk café and patio permit renewals get approved, taking to a real-life lectern to announce his plans to overhaul “another broken process.”

Related: The no-politics mayoral candidate questionnaire with Brad Bradford

Toronto’s current by-laws state that a patio permit renewal can be rejected if the city receives more than one objection from residents within a 30-metre radius of the business during the 21-day public notification period. Bradford wants to raise that threshold, suggesting that an application should be axed only if at least 25 per cent of notified neighbours raise complaints. The two-objection rule started in 2019 and was meant to give residents in dense neighbourhoods the power to resist rowdy late-night noise. But it has also created friction between business owners and their neighbours across the city.

Bradford, who has a history of arguing for “common sense” reforms, has latched onto the patio fight, once again signalling that he’s attuned to the everyday grievances of real people. In his 2023 mayoral bid, he struggled to gain traction, garnering only two per cent of the vote with a pro-car, tough-on-crime campaign, styling himself as a less cerebral and more action-oriented candidate.

Related: Three new jumbo towers will soon rise above College Park

He’s also been an outspoken critic of Mayor Olivia Chow, who in December of 2024 removed Bradford as vice-chair of the city’s planning and housing committee, replacing him with council veteran Frances Nunziata due to her “strong commitment to renters.” Bradford responded by calling Chow’s move “politics at its worst.”

Bradford was billed to speak at a July 15 anti-Chow protest at Nathan Philips Square alongside right-wing politician and former journalist Anthony Furey but didn’t end up attending.

If Bradford is gearing up for a 2026 mayoral run, his patio initiative and loud criticisms track for the political persona he seems to be cultivating: a populist champion using small-business grievances as a way to skewer city hall as inefficient and out of touch.