Ontario votes for mayors and councillors on Monday, October 26, 2026. Across the GTA, housing is the issue voters say matters most. In an Ipsos poll for the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, 85 per cent of GTA residents said they were concerned about affordability and 69 per cent said housing would affect how they vote.
City councils do not set mortgage rates, but they control a large part of what a home costs: land transfer tax in Toronto, property tax everywhere, development charges on new homes, and the zoning rules that decide what can be built. Here is where the leading candidates stand, based on their own announcements and published reporting.
When and where to vote
| City | Advance voting | Election day |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | October 6 to 11, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | October 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Mississauga | October 6 and 7 at the Civic Centre; October 8 to 11 in each ward, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | October 26 |
| Brampton | October 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17 | October 26 |
Check your city’s election site for your voting location. Other GTA municipalities vote the same day.
Toronto
Olivia Chow is seeking a second term. Her main challenger is Ward 19 councillor Brad Bradford. Chris Alexander suspended his campaign on October 6 without endorsing anyone, though his name stays on the ballot. A Nanos poll for CP24 and CTV, released the same day, had Chow at 52.4 per cent of decided voters and Bradford at 42.6 per cent.
Land transfer tax
This is the clearest difference between the two. Toronto is the only city in Ontario that charges its own land transfer tax on top of the provincial one. On a $1.1 million home the city’s share is about $18,475.
- Bradford would waive the municipal land transfer tax on the first $1.1 million of the price for people buying a home to live in. Investors and owners of more than one Toronto property would not qualify. He would also raise the first-time buyer rebate threshold from $400,000 to the previous year’s average sale price. His campaign puts the cost at about $300 million a year, paid for by turning Toronto Water into a utility that pays the city a dividend. He says the change would apply to purchases from September 29, 2026.
- Chow led council’s December 2025 vote to raise the tax on homes over $3 million, which took effect April 1, 2026. She has said funding Bradford’s cut would mean cutting services, and she opposes the Toronto Water plan.
Building homes
Chow has promised to start construction on 10,000 new rental homes in 2027 if re-elected. That would build on 60 projects already under way with 16,000 rental units, under a plan for 65,000 homes by 2030 with at least 20 per cent affordable. Toronto has also secured up to $1.5 billion from the federal and provincial governments to cut development charges by up to 60 per cent.
Property tax
Chow says she would keep increases at or around inflation. Toronto’s increases under her were 9.5 per cent in 2024, 6.9 per cent in 2025 and 2.2 per cent in 2026. Alexander, before leaving the race, had promised no increase in his first year.
Toronto’s land transfer tax today
| Part of the price | Municipal rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $55,000 | 0.5% |
| $55,000 to $250,000 | 1.0% |
| $250,000 to $400,000 | 1.5% |
| $400,000 to $2 million | 2.0% |
| $2 million to $3 million | 2.5% |
| $3 million to $4 million | 4.40% |
| $4 million to $5 million | 5.45% |
| $5 million to $10 million | 6.50% |
| $10 million to $20 million | 7.55% |
| Over $20 million | 8.60% |
First-time buyers get a rebate of up to $4,475. The provincial tax is charged on top. Our land transfer tax examples show both taxes at $600,000, $800,000 and $1 million, and the land transfer tax calculator works out your own.
Mississauga
Mayor Carolyn Parrish faces former mayor Bonnie Crombie, Dipika Damerla and Alvin Tedjo, among others. At an October debate covered by The Pointer, where Parrish did not attend, the challengers set out these housing positions:
- Carolyn Parrish points to her housing task force with developers and to cutting the city’s development charges. Mississauga has cut residential charges by 50 per cent and removed them on many rental units, with up to $401 million in federal and provincial funding.
- Bonnie Crombie wants affordable housing near transit and co-op housing with federal help, and argues for lower taxes.
- Alvin Tedjo proposes a Mississauga Housing Corporation that would build on public land, and a two-year property tax freeze.
- Dipika Damerla wants more missing-middle housing, including six-plexes on some main roads, and a tax freeze in 2027.
Crombie, Tedjo and Damerla all want Mississauga to leave Peel Region. No Mississauga candidate has proposed a municipal land transfer tax, and the city would need provincial approval to charge one.
Brampton
Mayor Patrick Brown is running for a third term. His challengers include Prabh Gill, Wesley Jackson, Paul Tariwal, Vidya Sagar Gautam, Nathaniel Peart and Sandeep Somal. Brown did not attend the mayoral debates.
- Patrick Brown‘s record on housing is development charge cuts. In August 2026 he directed an application for a 50 per cent cut on all residential types, and 65 per cent on condo apartments in buildings of five storeys or more. Brampton already cuts charges on purpose-built rentals.
- Wesley Jackson opposes those cuts. “When developers don’t pay development charges, buyers pay,” he said, and argues the affordable housing wait-list has grown from six to 13 years.
We could not find a published housing platform for the other Brampton candidates. If you are buying in the city, our guide to legal basement apartments in Brampton covers the second-unit rules the next council will oversee.
What the real estate board is asking for
TRREB has asked Toronto candidates to commit to cutting the municipal land transfer tax this term, starting with first-time buyers. It has asked candidates everywhere else in the GTA to oppose any new municipal land transfer tax. It also wants four homes allowed as of right on residential lots and no parking minimums near transit.
The Ipsos poll it commissioned, of 1,712 adults in the GTA and Barrie in late August and early September, found:
| Finding | Share |
|---|---|
| Support cutting taxes for first-time buyers | 86% |
| Concerned about housing affordability | 85% |
| Support cutting development charges by up to 50% for three years | 83% |
| Say municipalities are not doing enough | 82% |
| Say housing will affect their vote | 69% |
| More likely to back a mayoral candidate focused on housing | 60% |
| Toronto residents who say the city relies too much on land transfer tax | 55% |
Why this vote matters if you are buying or selling
- Toronto buyers: if Bradford wins and his plan passes, a buyer of a $1.1 million principal residence would save about $18,000 at closing. If Chow wins, the current tax and rebate stay.
- New home buyers in Peel and York: the next councils decide whether development charge cuts continue after their current end dates. See which GTA cities have cut development charges.
- Everyone: property tax promises range from a freeze to increases near inflation. Over time, what councils allow to be built, and how fast, will matter more to prices than the tax rate.
Questions about the 2026 election
When is the 2026 Ontario municipal election?
Monday, October 26, 2026.
Who is running for mayor of Toronto in 2026?
The main candidates are Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford. Chris Alexander suspended his campaign on October 6 but remains on the ballot. More than 60 people registered.
Will Toronto cut the land transfer tax?
Brad Bradford has promised to waive the municipal tax on the first $1.1 million for principal residences. Olivia Chow has not proposed a cut.
Does Mississauga or Brampton have a land transfer tax?
No. Only Toronto charges a municipal land transfer tax. Buyers everywhere in Ontario pay the provincial tax.
Sources
- City of Toronto, advance voting release, October 5, 2026; Mississauga Votes; City of Brampton election key dates.
- CP24: Chris Alexander withdrawal and Nanos poll, October 6, 2026; Chow rental housing pledge, October 8, 2026; Bradford land transfer tax plan, September 29, 2026; property tax pledges, September 4, 2026.
- Bradford campaign announcement, bradford26.ca.
- The Pointer: Mississauga mayoral debate, October 7, 2026; Brampton mayoral debate, October 6, 2026.
- City of Brampton mayoral decision on the development charge reduction application, August 18, 2026; Government of Canada release on Mississauga funding, September 3, 2026.
- City of Toronto, municipal land transfer tax rates and rebates.
- Ipsos for TRREB, released September 16, 2026; TRREB election statements, September 2026.
Local Toronto does not endorse candidates. Positions are as reported by the sources above as of October 8, 2026. HomeLife Landmark Realty Inc., Brokerage.