Two of Toronto’s leading mayoral candidates told a packed North York synagogue they would do more than the current administration to protect the city’s Jewish community from antisemitism, in an early test of the fall campaign season.
Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander — who, since nominations for the election closed last month, have emerged as the primary challengers to incumbent Olivia Chow in the Oct. 26 contest — sat for a pair of live interviews at the Adath Israel Congregation on Tuesday, and denounced what they described as the scourge of rising antisemitism that has afflicted the city for the past three years.
They also took turns slamming Chow for not showing up to the event. Chow held a press conference with police earlier in the day about increasing security for Jewish residents in the coming holidays.
Speakers who took to the podium before the candidates referenced a string of recent incidents in the Toronto area that have put many in the Jewish community on edge, including shootings at synagogues, an arson at a Jewish-owned grocery store, and mezuzahs being torn off apartment doorways.
There were 231 reported hate crimes in Toronto last year, according to the Toronto police, a decrease of 50 per cent from 2024. But of the 99 incidents that were religiously motivated in 2025, 82 per cent were categorized as anti-Jewish occurrences. Jewish residents make up less than 3 per cent of Toronto’s population.
Asked what he would do differently to fight the problem, Bradford, the councillor for Beaches—East York, said he would take a seat on the police board, a power the mayor has but which Chow hasn’t exercised. He called that a “dereliction of duty.”
He also argued the mayor, who is seeking a second term, hasn’t used her platform to urge the federal and provincial governments to enact bail reform or more aggressive prosecution of alleged offenders.
Both candidates repeatedly took swings at the mayor for staying away from the event.
“The mayor’s job is to be the mayor for everybody. That means you’ve got to show up,” Bradford said.
Alexander referenced a plan he rolled out earlier in the day in which he pledged to lead a steering group of experts and community leaders to combat hate, improve reporting around hate crimes, and ensure “full prosecution of those responsible for these crimes under the law.”
He also advocated for better police training to recognize hate crimes, and for domestic authorities to partner with Israel on intelligence to identify threats.
A former Conservative MP for Ajax-Pickering, Alexander served as immigration minister under Stephen Harper and championed legislation described by critics as Islamophobic, such as the so-called barbaric cultural practices hotline.
Alexander told the audience Tuesday that the idea that he is anti-Muslim is “unjust” and that the measures had been misinterpreted by political opponents.
Alexander said Chow’s absence was “unacceptable,” and criticized her for having “the insolence to pretend she’s not campaigning.”
Chow blames campaign schedule
Last week, Chow confirmed to the event organizers, Jewish Lawyers of Canada, that she wouldn’t attend, with her spokesperson explaining that the mayor is not officially launching her re-election campaign until Wednesday, and wouldn’t take part in candidate events before then.
The lawyers group said it contacted Chow’s team in early August, and her campaign didn’t flag the timing of the event as a problem.
In Chow’s absence, the format was changed to separate one-on-one interviews with Alexander and Bradford conducted by Jesse Brown, the founder of the Canadaland media company who had been tapped as debate moderator.
Earlier in the day, Chow stood with police Chief Myron Demkiw at Toronto police headquarters to announce plans to increase police visibility ahead of the High Holy Days. This will include deploying “Task Force Guardian” officers, who have tactical training and rifles, in Jewish areas, Demkiw said.
“Jewish Torontonians should not need police presence to go to a synagogue, a community centre, or simply to live proudly Jewish in our city — but they do,” said Chow. “It is despicable. During this period, we are taking heightened measures.”
Asked why she could make the police announcement but not attend the candidate forum, Chow said: “I’m here as the mayor of Toronto.”
“I’m not here in a campaign capacity. I will continue to engage with the Jewish community with dialogue on safety, on antisemitism and on how we can stamp out hate together.”
Bradford declared last fall he was running for mayor and is polling second behind Chow. He appeared to have the support of much of the crowd, with half the audience giving a standing ovation when fellow councillor James Pasternak (York Centre) announced he was endorsing Bradford.
Alexander is polling third, and his most sustained applause came when he was asked whether he might drop out to help stop Chow from being re-elected.
“Yes,” he said, but quickly stressed he was in the campaign to win.
Moderator has publicly criticized Chow
While Chow took flak for not participating Tuesday, ahead of the event, a coalition of Jewish groups, including Independent Jewish Voices and Jews Say No to Genocide, issued a statement saying they were “relieved” she was staying away.
They cited Brown’s involvement and alleged that he has a record of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
“While there have been several high-profile incidents targeting Jewish community members and institutions over the past few years, it is impossible to get a clear picture of antisemitism in Canada when peace marches and kaffiyehs are reported as antisemitic,” the group said.
Brown rejected that statement, and said that he “constantly distinguishes antizionism from antisemitism” in his work.
The mayor’s campaign didn’t publicly object to Brown’s role in the event.
He has levelled harsh criticism against Chow; he alleged in a July post to social media that she had allowed Toronto to become “a global capital of antisemitism.”
Brown said Tuesday that if Chow had attended, she would have “been given a fair hearing, a warm welcome, and a chance” to explain her policies.
Chow has struggled with fallout of Israel-Gaza war
Tuesday’s debate is the latest instance since the start of the Israel-Gaza war of the mayor grappling with her messaging around issues related to antisemitism. She has conceded she hasn’t always communicated effectively, and she and her allies have at times tried to stop heated debates relating to the conflict from bubbling over at City Hall.
In May 2025, she walked a fine line over a council plan to create “bubble zones” limiting protests around places of worship and other protected locations, which proponents said would stop anti-Israel demonstrators harassing Jewish residents. She voted for a version of the plan, but only after backing a failed attempt to defer the debate.
With files from Ben Cohen.
