Here\u2019s a closer look at some of those other names on the list. <\/p>\n
Laura Dean: Treat homelessness as an emergency<\/p>\n
Municipal and land-use planning lawyer Laura Dean says Toronto needs to move beyond political sparring and focus on delivering actual practical solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get a plan in place and let\u2019s do it. Let\u2019s stop with the theatrics,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dean, a seasoned lawyer with over a decade of experience, identified homelessness as the city\u2019s most urgent challenge. <\/p>\n
She says she\u2019s calling for a coordinated response across governments that establishes measurable targets and expands access to housing and treatment.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/XRNV4QPP2NE6TO2Q5VSZJQ3RO4.jpg\")
Laura Dean Laura Dean (Supplied photo to CP24\/CTV News Toronto) <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to treat this like an absolute emergency,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She says she would also keep property-tax increases around inflation in her first year, examine potential capital-budget savings and improve coordination of construction and road closures to ease congestion.<\/p>\n
On Premier Doug Ford\u2019s involvement in Toronto, Dean accused him of using public safety for political gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s playing politics with Toronto. He\u2019s using public safety as a wedge issue. He\u2019s putting lives in danger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Despite her criticism, she said she would work with the province where cooperation benefits the city.<\/p>\n
Read more about her campaign here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Darrell Brown: A different approach to housing and revenue<\/p>\n Former CNE CEO Darrell Brown wants Toronto to adopt a homes-first approach to homelessness, providing stable housing before expecting people to address addiction or mental-health challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually think we need 100,000 publicly supported housing units in this city,\u201d he said, adding that his main proposal is \u201chome first.\u201d <\/p>\n According to his campaign website, Brown, originally from Halifax, has been a yearslong advocate for putting the interests of others first. In 2022, he housed seven Ukrainian refugees in his home following the 2022 Russian invasion. He has also supported Syrian refugees during the Syrian civil war.<\/p>\n Brown also believes Toronto needs to diversify its revenue sources, pointing to options including congestion pricing and sales taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot run this city on a property tax,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n On public safety, he favours community investment, youth employment and social programming over simply increasing police numbers.<\/p>\n Brown also criticized the election\u2019s focus on the front-runners, arguing other candidates have long been overlooked across the city\u2019s mainstream media. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are some incredibly talented people in that pool of 53 that have been totally ignored,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cthere\u2019s always going to be an incumbency bias.\u201d <\/p>\n He says a group of alternative candidates have organized a virtual debate<\/a> for Friday Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m., which will be moderated by Chloe Brown<\/a>, a candidate running for Ward 1 Etobicoke North. <\/p>\n Roberto Curto: Make Toronto a city young people can stay in<\/p>\n For grassroots candidate Roberto Curto, improving Toronto\u2019s transit system is central to making the city more affordable and livable.<\/p>\n \u201cToronto\u2019s become more expensive, more frustrating, and in some ways I think less fun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Curto, 29, wants improved streetcar infrastructure, expanded bus service and a costed pilot for overnight subway service on Friday and Saturday nights so people wouldn\u2019t have to leave bars and clubs early to catch the last train.<\/p>\n He said that expanding the transit service during late nights would help with affordability by reducing reliance on surge-priced rideshares. <\/p>\n He also supports expanding discounted TTC fares for lower-income residents and pursuing a city charter to give Toronto greater revenue-raising powers.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want leaving Toronto to feel like the only way to move forward in life,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n While acknowledging he does not expect to win, Curto believes supporting alternative candidates can still influence the city\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cA vote for me probably would go a lot farther than one vote for one of the main two candidates,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Corey Deville: People focused policy<\/p>\n For Canadian entrepreneur Cory Deville, key topics like cost of living, safety and economic opportunity need to be what he describes as \u201cthe aggressive focus of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt falls to us as people to embody the change we want to see in the world, and I believe our first step to reifying a people-focused future is by embodying the courage of our convictions to be the first movers of that change,\u201d he said in a statement to CTV News. <\/p>\n Deville\u2019s campaign is centred around a \u201cpeople first policy\u201d which includes ideas such as repurposing underutilized real estate. <\/p>\n It also includes tasking CreateTO to rapidly increase urban density and affordable housing options by acquiring two-to-three story homes to convert into self-contained micro-apartments for vulnerable and transitional demographics. <\/p>\n Deville says if elected mayor, he would host a monthly contest for youth entrepreneurs where winners would receive $5,000 to $25,000 in non-dilutive funding to seed their startup idea. <\/p>\n \u201cThis would directly support youth employment, because it creates job opportunity through entrepreneurialism,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople focused policy must be the priority of Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toronto\u2019s mayoral race has largely centred on Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford, but with 53 candidates on 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DARRELL BROWN Darrell Brown (Supplied photo to CP24\/CTV News Toronto) <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/CNPIIXARH5H2NJVAASULVJCYJI.jpeg\")
Roberto Curto Roberto Curto (Supplied photo to CP24\/CTV News Toronto) <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/JTBF5F7LKJFAHE2S3ILEZUEIR4.png\")
Cory Deville Cory Deville (Supplied photo to CP24\/CTV News Toronto). <\/p>\n