There are two candidates with the last name Chow running for mayor in Toronto, and they’re not the only candidates sharing a surname. Sean Leathong explains.

Olivia Chow says she’ll have shovels in the ground on 10,000 new rental homes in 2027 if re-elected.

At a campaign announcement Thursday morning, Chow said the pledge builds on the 60 housing projects currently under construction in the city, which will deliver 16,000 rental homes when complete, including thousands of affordable and rent-controlled spaces.

“For too many people, a home here is slipping out of reach. That’s not acceptable to me. I believe if you’re a nurse, a teacher, a construction worker, a PSW, you should be able to afford to live here. Full stop. That’s why housing has been my focus. We are getting housing built,” Chow said.

Chow said the money to fund the projects has already been secured through a $1.5 billion investment made by the provincial and federal governments in the spring to lower developmental charges by as much as 60 per cent. The city has also earmarked $1.2 billion from both the operating and capital budgets to offset the costs for developers.

The pitch is part of her plan to build 65,000 homes in the city by 2030, with at least 20 per cent of those units set aside as affordable spaces.

Chow pointed out that the timeline to get these homes built is fast, noting that a project must be able to start construction in the next 12 months to qualify. When the first round of building opened in November 2024, shovels were in the ground just three months later.

‘Holding 10,000 homes hostage’: Bradford

In response to Chow’s announcement, Brad Bradford’s team accused Chow of “holding 10,00 homes hostage.”

“The Mayor says these projects are ready and that families can’t put their lives on hold. Then she says they’ll only move forward if she’s re-elected. If the homes are ready, build them,” a spokesperson for the campaign said.

Bradford’s team went on to point out that, last year, Toronto was expected to start construction on 28,500 homes, but only had shovels in the ground on 13,928 units, or 48.9 per cent of the target. This year, the target was 33,250 units, but only 7,164 have started construction (21.5 per cent of the target) as of June.

“Chow promised 65,000 rent-controlled homes, but as of March, only about 1,500 of the homes City Hall counts toward that promise were complete. A target of 65,000 homes by 2030 means nothing from a mayor who can’t hit this year’s number.”

Chow repeats worry about second Chow on the ballot

Following the announcement, Chow reiterated a worry she made public at a news conference earlier this week about a second mayoral candidate with the same surname.

“I am very, very concerned,” Chow said, noting that she first made the discovery when voting at advanced polls.

“Because not everyone has English as their first language. And if it’s English as their second language, they are already having trouble navigating looking for a last name, and then the first one they hit, they’re going to mark because the mark is right beside the last name on the right-hand side.”

The candidate she’s referring to, Braeden Chow, appears first on the ballot as the names are listed in alphabetical order.

Chow admitted that “all she can do” to assuage her concerns is “hope” the city clerk or election office can “mitigate the problem,” though it’s unclear what exactly that would look like.

In response to Chow’s comment, a spokesperson for the city told CTV News Toronto in an email: “The Municipal Elections Act requires the names of candidates to be listed in alphabetical order by surname. Where candidates for the same office share a surname, the Act requires them to be further ordered by first name. The candidates are differentiated by their first names and a unique number assigned by the Clerk.”

The spokesperson went on to say that there have been “several occasions” in past elections where candidates for the same office have shared a surname.

CTV News Toronto has reached out to Braeden Chow’s team for comment, but has not received a response.

Election day is Oct. 26.

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