Olivia Chow won’t attend a Toronto mayoral debate next week about antisemitism and other public safety concerns, her team has confirmed.
The decision could serve as fodder for critics who have accused the incumbent mayor of not taking anti-Jewish hate seriously, and marks the latest challenge Chow has faced in navigating local concerns about antisemitism in the wake the Israel-Gaza war. Chow has rejected accusations she hasn’t done enough to combat intolerance, and her campaign said Thursday she would continue to work with the Jewish community to fight antisemitism.
The debate, hosted by Jewish Lawyers of Canada, was scheduled for Tuesday, and would give candidates a chance to “explain how they would confront antisemitism and hate, strengthen public safety, protect community institutions and ensure residents can participate in civic life,” according to organizers.
Chow’s main rivals in the Oct. 26 election — Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander — have confirmed they would take part, while listed guests include one of Chow’s ceremonial deputy mayors, Mike Colle, and her budget chief, Shelley Carroll. Organizers have said they’re keeping the location secret out of security concerns.
Chow’s team cites timing of debate
In a statement Thursday, Chow’s campaign spokesperson Shirven Rezvany said the mayor isn’t formally launching her re-election bid until Sept. 9, a day after the debate, and that “she will not be participating in any debates or candidate events” before then.
Rezvany asserted that Chow has made the safety of Toronto’s Jewish community “a top priority” and that during her campaign “she will engage with the Jewish community on the critical issue of antisemitism, safety and more.”
“Mayor Chow believes it is unacceptable that Jewish community members need police presence to go to Shul, to a community centre, to drop their kids at child care, or to take part in any aspect of Jewish cultural life,” Rezvany wrote. He said that while Chow “has been unequivocal … in condemning emboldened antisemitism” and has taken action such as increasing police presence in communities and meeting with local leaders and law enforcement, she “recognizes there is more work to do.”
Unclear how event will go ahead
Jewish Lawyers of Canada told the Star that the group had been communicating with Chow’s campaign since Aug. 7 and that her team never raised her launch date as a problem. He declined to comment on her decision, but said talks were ongoing with the other candidates about what format the event would now take.
Bradford campaign spokesperson Laryssa Waler called Chow’s decision “really unfortunate,” and said the Beaches-East York councillor had been eager to debate the mayor about “the change this city needs.”
Alexander’s campaign said that it was “not surprised” Chow wasn’t attending, given “how the city has responded on this issue.” A spokesperson said that Torontonians have become worried about wearing religious symbols in public that could identify them as Jewish, which he said was “unacceptable.”
Moderator has criticized Chow
Tuesday’s debate was to be moderated by Jesse Brown, editor and founder of the Canadaland media outlet, who has publicly accused Chow of endangering the Jewish community. In a post to X in July, he wrote that she had “allowed this city to become a global capital of antisemitism,” and described her statements about not tolerating hate as “dangerous gaslighting that keeps Jews unsafe.”
In a post after his role as moderator was announced, Brown said Chow would “be treated fairly” if she decided to take part.
Rezvany did not respond to a question about whether Brown’s participation was a factor in Chow’s decision, and the lawyers association declined to comment.
In an email, Brown told the Star that Chow’s team hadn’t asked for a different moderator, and if they had, he would step aside. “If she chooses not to attend, that’s between her and the Jewish community as a whole and it’s not something I’m willing to be scapegoated for,” he said.
“I just don’t think it’s acceptable to sit this one out,” he added.
Not unusual for candidates to skip debates
Unlike at the provincial and federal levels, there is no centralized group responsible for organizing municipal leadership debates in Toronto. Instead, individual organizations stage their own, often leading to a high number of debates each election season. It’s not unusual for candidates to turn down invitations. Chow has confirmed she will attend a Sept. 14 debate hosted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, which is also expected to include Bradford and Alexander and which the organization is billing as the first debate of the 2026 campaign.
However, Tuesday’s debate has political significance for Chow, who since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel has faced criticism from some for how she has handled local fallout from the conflict.
In 2024, she came under fire from some Jewish groups and residents for missing a vigil marking the first anniversary of the attack, which she blamed on a missed email. Earlier that year, she was condemned by Israel’s supporters for not attending the country’s flag-raising at city hall, a decision some commentators said showed she didn’t support the Jewish community. She said the flag-raising held during the war on Gaza was “divisive.”
Pro-Israel groups alleged that a November 2025 speech in which Chow said Israel had committed “genocide” in Gaza was antisemitic and could prompt violent reprisals against the Jewish community. In response, Chow cited two reports that found Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide, one from a team commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the other by the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Israel has strongly denied the allegations.
In recent months there have been alarming incidents targeting Jewish institutions in the Toronto area, including a pair of shootings at synagogues in March that police allege are linked to gun-for-hire networks. Chow condemned the shootings as “disgusting acts of antisemitism, hate and intimidation.”
Hate crimes in Toronto fell by 50 per cent in 2025 compared to the year before, but “anti-Jewish occurrences” made up more than 80 per cent of the incidents motivated by religion, according to police statistics.
