Toronto voter turnout climbs to highest level in more than a decade

Posted October 27, 2026 9:02 am.

Toronto voters turned out in significantly higher numbers for the 2026 municipal election, delivering the city’s strongest voter participation rate since 2014 and reversing a decline that peaked with a historic low just four years ago.

According to unofficial election results, 982,660 ballots were counted across all 1,431 polling locations, resulting in a voter turnout of 45.8 per cent.

The turnout marked the highest level of participation in a Toronto municipal election since 2014, when 54.7 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the race that saw John Tory elected mayor following the tumultuous final years of Rob Ford’s administration.

The 2026 election featured one of the most closely watched mayoral contests in recent Toronto history, with incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow securing a second term after a tight race against challenger and city councillor Brad Bradford.

The increased voter engagement represented a sharp improvement from recent municipal elections. Toronto recorded a turnout of 40.9 per cent in 2018 before dropping to a record-low 29.7 per cent in 2022, when then-mayor Tory cruised to re-election in a race widely viewed as lacking serious competition.

Voter participation rebounded somewhat in the 2023 mayoral byelection, which was triggered by Tory’s resignation and won by Chow, with turnout reaching 38.5 per cent.

Chow’s 2026 re-election pitch rested largely on her track record, highlighted by the deal to upload city expressway costs to the province, tighter rules for bad-faith evictions, and reduced 911 wait times. She’s now expected to make good on new promises, including capping transit fares at 10 rides a week, building more affordable rental housing and expanding a school nutrition program.

She vowed to create a task force to pursue landlords with the worst track records and empower the city to complete more repairs in buildings where owners had chronically refused court-ordered work.

“I have never forgotten what Toronto gave my family, and I have spent my life trying to give back because Toronto is a city that believes in people, a progressive city, a city of compassion, a city to welcome newcomers,” Chow said on Monday night. “A city that stands up for working people, celebrates our differences and believes everyone deserves a fair chance.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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