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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced she’ll be running for a second term in a news release Monday.
Her announcement comes weeks after the municipal election nomination window opened. While she was widely expected to run again for the city’s top job, neither Chow nor her team revealed their plans until Monday.
“This morning I registered to run for re-election. But that does not change what I do here as the mayor,” she said at a news conference Monday.
“There’s plenty of time to campaign in the fall. Right now I’m going to spend my time serving the people of Toronto. I registered today to say one thing: to the people of Toronto, I am in your corner. I’ve always been and always will be.”
When asked why she announced a re-election bid now after initially holding back, Chow said her team needs time to build the campaign up.
Prior to her announcement, the mayor had regularly spoken about her plans for the city beyond 2026, sending a strong signal that she had unfinished business.
Chow was elected in the 2023 mayoral byelection as the third woman and first racialized person to serve as mayor in the city’s history.
That byelection was triggered by former mayor John Tory’s resignation, after he admitted to having a relationship with a staffer. Tory said in March that he would not run in the 2026 election.
WATCH | Olivia Chow wouldn’t commit to running again in year-end interview with CBC Toronto:
Olivia Chow talks tax rates, transit construction in year-end interview
Toronto mayor Olivia Chow sat down with CBC’s Lane Harrison to discuss what her goals are for the city for 2026.
Chow also ran for mayor in 2014, but placed in a distant third.
So far 15 other candidates are also vying for a chance to be Toronto’s mayor this year, according to the city’s website.
Amongst them, Ward 19 Coun. Brad Bradford is expected to be Chow’s biggest competition for votes. Political advocacy groups have run multiple ads targeting both individuals since mid-April.
Chow was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto at age 13.
Toronto’s municipal election is set for Oct. 26.