Maple Express | October 26, 2026: Ontario votes today as Toronto's mayoral race stays tight

1. Ontario votes today as Toronto's mayoral race sits in a statistical tie

Source: CP24

Voters across Ontario go to the polls today to elect mayors, city councillors and school trustees. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario says nearly 11.9 million Ontarians are eligible to vote, with 6,670 candidates contesting 2,800 seats. Polls in Toronto open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.; in Mississauga they run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Toronto, the mayoral race is expected to be a two-way contest between Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford, with 53 candidates on the ballot. A Nanos Research survey conducted for CP24 and CTV News Toronto last week put Chow at 49.8 per cent among decided voters and Bradford at 46.6 per cent - a 3.2-point gap within the poll's margin of error, making it a statistical tie.

Chow has been mayor for three years, winning the 2023 byelection triggered by John Tory's resignation. First elected as a TDSB trustee in 1985, she later served three terms as a city councillor and four terms as an NDP MP for Trinity-Spadina. Bradford, the incumbent councillor for Beaches-East York and a former city planner, entered politics in 2018 and finished eighth in the 2023 byelection.

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2. How Toronto's mayoral race became so tight

Source: CBC

Toronto's mayoral campaign ends today with the race described as too close to call. CBC traced the contest back to the last byelection three years ago: when former mayor John Tory resigned in 2023, both Chow and Bradford ran, with Chow taking 37 per cent of the vote and Bradford just one per cent.

Bradford announced in October 2025 that he would run again. Political strategist and Bradford supporter Bob Richardson said the early launch was key to building support and helped deter potential challengers, including Premier Doug Ford's nephew Michael and former finance minister Rod Phillips; Tory also said he would not run. Chow did not confirm her re-election bid until May and officially launched in September.

The polls reflect the narrowing gap. A Liaison Strategies survey in February had Bradford at 18 per cent and Chow at 40 per cent; the firm's poll released last Wednesday put Bradford at 49 per cent and Chow at 47 per cent. That survey of 1,000 city residents was conducted Oct. 18-19 and carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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3. Early-morning stabbing near Yonge and Steeles leaves one with life-threatening injuries

Source: CityNews Toronto

Toronto police say officers responded at about 3:15 a.m. today to a stabbing in the Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue area and established a large police presence. Toronto paramedics told CityNews one person was taken to hospital with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries; officials could not provide the victim's age or gender.

Police told 680 NewsRadio that one person has been taken into custody. Investigators have not released further details about the circumstances and no information has been provided about possible charges. The investigation is ongoing.

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4. One dead after Highway 401 crash in Scarborough

Source: CP24

Ontario Provincial Police say one person has died after a crash on Highway 401 near Kennedy Road in Scarborough on Sunday night. The collision occurred at 7:40 p.m., OPP said in an email to CP24, adding that the investigation is in its early stages.

Toronto Paramedic Services said an adult male was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, paramedics said, while a third adult male was assessed at the scene and was not transported.

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5. Fourth suspect charged in Toronto retail theft probe; one still at large

Source: CP24

A fourth person has been arrested in a Toronto police investigation into repeated thefts at locations of a retail store. Police say the thefts happened between Jan. 14 and Oct. 11, with losses totalling $35,606.80.

Charles Clarke, 42, of Toronto, was arrested on Oct. 22 and charged with 25 counts of theft under $5,000 and five counts of fail to comply with probation. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning; the charges have not been tested in court.

Three other people were arrested earlier. Richard Hoskin, 45, of Toronto, remains outstanding and is wanted for seven counts each of theft under $5,000 and disguise with intent, plus 15 counts of fail to comply with a release order. Police describe him as five-foot-10, 200 pounds, with short brown hair and blue eyes, and ask anyone with information to call 416-808-1100.

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6. Twenty-seven highway closures scheduled in York Region today

Source: YorkRegion.com

Twenty-seven closures are scheduled on provincial highways in York Region today for roadwork, affecting Highway 400, Highway 404, Highway 48 and Highway 9. The closures are for short-term or emergency repairs and maintenance, scheduled by the Ministry of Transportation, according to the report, which is generated from Ontario 511 data.

Drivers are advised to plan their route before getting on the road. The disruptions may be intermittent or ongoing and can change because of weather, emergencies and other factors.

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7. Ontario offers free flu and COVID-19 shots to all residents starting today

Source: CBC

Free flu and COVID-19 vaccines are available to all Ontario residents aged six months and older starting today. Shots can be received at select pharmacies, public health units and participating doctor and nurse practitioner offices, and are available to anyone who lives, works or goes to school in Ontario.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the province has launched its fall immunization programs so people can get flu, COVID-19 and RSV shots close to home; RSV vaccines are available to those who are eligible. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore encouraged the most vulnerable to get vaccinated.

The province began offering vaccines to high-risk and priority groups - including hospitalized patients, hospital staff, long-term care and retirement home staff and residents, and people 65 and older - in the week of Sept. 28. Toronto Public Health recorded 337 influenza and 380 COVID-19 cases in the city between Aug. 30 and Oct. 21. Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said flu season has arrived early this year, with H1N1 the dominant strain.

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8. Trump says trade war with Canada will end 'pretty soon'

Source: Toronto Star

U.S. President Donald Trump said at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday that he expects his trade war with Canada to end "pretty soon." Trump said Canada had been "ripping off" the United States for years and that he had no choice but to impose tariffs, adding that Canada was "willing to give us anything at this moment."

The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The report notes that relations have been tense since the Carney government walked away from formal trade talks in August over what it called unreasonable last-minute demands from Washington; the U.S. then imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods and Ottawa retaliated.

With the midterms less than two weeks away, Trump announced Friday that he will lift some of the 50 per cent tariffs at the end of the month while adding tariffs to dozens of new products, including Canadian garbage and sewage. The move came at the request of Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

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9. Markets expect the Bank of Canada to raise rates this week

Source: CityNews Toronto

Expectations are rising that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates this week. Financial market odds of a hike stood at nearly 78 per cent as of Friday afternoon, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. The central bank has held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent for seven consecutive meetings.

RBC economists said in a note to clients Thursday that they now expect a quarter-point hike as the bank faces a "pivotal decision." Statistics Canada reported last week that annual inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in September as the war in the Middle East pushed up gasoline prices; jobs data earlier this month showed the labour market stalled for a second month in September, with 68,000 positions lost.

RBC said it has "very low conviction" on a hike and sees a significant chance the Bank instead sets up a move in December or January. RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen said recent comments from Governor Tiff Macklem, who warned at the IMF meetings in Bangkok that persistently high global energy prices will lift the inflation outlook at home, drove the change in expectations.

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10. Saskatchewan siblings find 450-million-year-old sea fossil in a rock pile

Source: CP24

Two siblings in North Battleford, Sask., found a fossil dating back about 450 million years while searching a neighbourhood rock pile earlier this month. Bailey Pearson, 16, and Oden Singh, 8, discovered a fossilized section of a large, shelled sea creature similar to a giant squid, known as a nautiloid, which lived when Western Canada was covered by a shallow sea.

"It is crazy to think that they are so old," Bailey said. Their mother, Amanda Singh, had shown them photos of fossils she thought might be in the pile and suggested they look for a cone-shaped animal. She initially thought the oldest find would date back 75 million years, but the markings preserved in the Tyndall limestone helped experts at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum identify it.

Ryan McKellar, the museum's curator of palaeontology, said the specimens are a great snapshot of the Ordovician period and that large nautiloids like the one found in North Battleford are rarer than other fossils. "It is exciting that kids are getting excited about science," he said. The family collects rocks almost everywhere they go, and the siblings have also found ammonite, giant snail and coral fossils, arrowheads and hundreds of crystals.

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