Toronto mayoral candidates Brad Bradford and Chris Alexander pledged stronger measures to combat antisemitism during appearances at a synagogue in the district of North York on Tuesday, while both criticized incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow for declining to attend the event, reported The Toronto Star.
The two candidates, who have emerged as Chow’s main challengers since nominations closed last month, were interviewed separately before a packed gathering at Adath Israel Congregation. The forum was organized as an early test of the campaign ahead of the October 26 election.
Bradford, a city councillor, said he would take a seat on the Toronto Police Services Board if elected, a power available to the mayor that Chow has not exercised. He described her decision not to do so as a “dereliction of duty."
Bradford also said the mayor should have used her influence to press the federal and provincial governments for bail reform and tougher prosecution of people accused of hate crimes.
“The mayor’s job is to be the mayor for everybody. That means you’ve got to show up," Bradford said.
Alexander, a former Conservative MP and former immigration minister under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, unveiled a plan earlier Tuesday calling for a steering group of experts and community leaders to address hate, improve the reporting of hate crimes and ensure “full prosecution of those responsible for these crimes under the law."
He also called for enhanced police training to identify hate crimes and for Canadian authorities to work with Israel on intelligence to detect threats.
Alexander said Chow’s decision not to attend was “unacceptable," and accused her of having “the insolence to pretend she’s not campaigning."
Chow confirmed last week that she would not participate after being invited by Jewish Lawyers of Canada. Her spokesperson said she was not officially launching her reelection campaign until Wednesday and therefore would not attend candidate events beforehand. The organization said it had first contacted her team in early August and was not told that the timing would pose a problem.
With Chow absent, the planned debate was replaced by individual interviews with Bradford and Alexander, conducted by Jesse Brown, founder of Canadaland and the event’s original moderator.
Chow's absence came on the same day that she appeared alongside Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw to announce increased security measures for the upcoming High Holy Days. Demkiw said specially trained “Task Force Guardian" officers equipped with tactical gear and rifles would be deployed in Jewish areas.
“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 attend the police announcement but not 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."
The mayor has faced criticism from members of the Jewish community over several previous decisions. In 2024, she did not attend a memorial and vigil organized on the first anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Chow attributed her absence to a “miscommunication" and said her office had not received the invitation email.
She also previously declined to attend a City Hall ceremony marking Israel’s Independence Day and the raising of the Israeli flag, saying that attending would be "divisive" amid the war in Gaza. In June, she faced further criticism after a video circulated showing her saying “Free Palestine" while attending Toronto’s Pride Parade.
The political confrontation comes amid a sustained rise in antisemitic incidents in Toronto and the surrounding area since October 7, 2023, with several attacks reported in recent months.
Toronto police recorded 231 hate crimes last year, 50 per cent fewer than in 2024. However, 82 per cent of the 99 incidents classified as religiously motivated in 2025 were categorized as anti-Jewish. Jewish residents account for less than 3 per cent of the city’s population.
Recent incidents included shootings targeting synagogues, an arson attack at a Jewish-owned grocery store and mezuzahs being removed from apartment doorways.
In March, gunfire was directed at Temple Emanu-El in North York as members of the congregation gathered for Purim. Nobody was injured, but the synagogue sustained damage.
Days later, Beth Avraham Yoseph in Vaughan and Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto were targeted in separate shootings within hours of each other. Three suspects have been charged in connection with those incidents.
In April, a man allegedly attempted to force his way into an Orthodox synagogue in Thornhill and assaulted a person before fleeing. The following day, a rock was thrown through the window of a Toronto Judaica store, marking the third reported attack on the business.
In July, two locations of a Jewish-owned Toronto bakery were attacked within roughly an hour of one another.