Canada’s biggest city is also home to Canada’s largest concentration of older adults.
As Toronto prepares for its next mayoral election, the candidate who has emerged as the principal challenger to incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow is City Councillor Brad Bradford.
Councillor Bradford, who has represented Ward 19, Beaches–East York since 2018, stopped by the ZoomerPlex during Doors Open Toronto in May. While visiting, he spoke with ZNews videographer Darrin Maharaj to discuss his vision for the city and the issues he believes matter most to Toronto’s growing population of older adults.
In this interview, Bradford outlines the priorities he says are most important for seniors—from public safety and affordability to transportation, mobility, and ensuring Toronto remains a city where people can age with dignity and independence.
Toronto’s older adults have a major stake in the next chapter of city government. Toronto has over 500,000 residents aged 65 and older. By 2041, that number is expected to rise to more than 719,000.
For many seniors, the mayoral race will come down to practical questions. Is the city safe? Is it moving? Is it affordable?
Bradford often speaks about these issues through what he calls the three C’s: crime, congestion and cost.
Crime matters because public safety is closely tied to independence. Seniors should feel comfortable taking transit, walking to the store, visiting friends, attending appointments, or participating in community life. When people feel unsafe, they are more likely to stay home. That can mean more isolation, less activity and a lower quality of life.
Congestion matters because traffic is not just a frustration for drivers. Gridlock affects family caregivers, home care workers, Wheel-Trans, emergency vehicles, taxis, deliveries and medical appointments. When the city slows down, the burden often falls on people who have the least flexibility in their day.
Cost matters because affordability is now one of the defining issues in Toronto. Many older adults live on fixed incomes. Rising property taxes, rents, maintenance costs, groceries, insurance, transportation and care expenses all shape whether seniors can continue to live in the communities they helped build.
Bradford’s background as a planner gives him a particular way of talking about these problems. He tends to focus on the mechanics of the city: how approvals happen, how roads are managed, how housing gets built, how services are delivered, and how City Hall can be made more accountable for results.
That does not mean every voter will agree with every position he takes. But it does make him a candidate worth hearing from directly, especially for older Torontonians who are looking for practical answers rather than slogans.
CARP’s role is to make sure seniors’ issues are part of the conversation. Public safety and policing, transportation, affordability, housing, long term care, access to services are core city issues.
Candidate Bradford has accepted CARP’s invitation to join in our long established Toronto Mayoral Debate, however, Mayor Chow has yet to commit and her team says, the “campaign won’t be making any decisions about the debate schedule until the fall.”
We encourage Mayor Chow to come to the ZoomerPlex as Mr. Bradford has, and to commit now, to the CARP debate, on a date of her choosing.
Toronto’s seniors are homeowners, renters, transit users, drivers, caregivers, volunteers, taxpayers, grandparents and community leaders. They have helped build the city and continue to contribute to it every day. Any serious discussion about Toronto’s future should include them.
Previous CARP Mayoral Debates:
https://zoomer.com/general/2014/10/10/zoomers-vote-2014-mayoral-debate
