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Voting day in Toronto’s mayoral election is seven months away, but the attack ads are already starting. ABC Toronto, which stands for A Better City and not Anybody but Chow, is launching their first series of ads aimed at the mayor.

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The ads, which will launch Thursday on social media and then move towards television and other platforms, target Chow on affordability, traffic and crime.

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“By every metric, Olivia Chow has failed as Mayor. Taxes are up, services are down, the city is more dangerous, and citizens are stuck in gridlock,” Jeffrey Kroker, chair of ABC Toronto, said in a statement announcing the ads.

The ads use clips from Chow’s own events juxtaposed against what ABC says is her record.

“Toronto cannot afford Olivia Chow. Since becoming mayor, Olivia has raised property taxes on homeowners and renters by more than 25%,” says the ad on affordability.

“Olivia can’t even get snow cleared in the wintertime in Toronto, potholes galore.”

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Facts don’t lie

It’s hard to argue with those facts.

Core services for the city are not being provided as they should be, and the city looks like a dump. How many times have you walked down or driven down a street in the last five years and thought this isn’t the way it should be?

For those of us who use transit, things have only gotten worse.

I’m a big guy, taller than 6-foot-2 and heavier than I should be, which means people don’t bother me. For many others, the experience on the subway, streetcar or city buses is something else.

“Random assaults have become commonplace, and people no longer feel safe on the TTC, we used to be the safest city in the world, but under Olivia Chow, not anymore,” says the ad on crime in the city.

Crime on rise under Chow, attack ads say

This same ad also describes how crime has gone up since Chow became mayor when it comes to gun violence, home invasions and violence on the TTC.

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Despite her promises to turn the city around, the tenure of Mayor Olivia Chow has not gone well. She’s heading into the fall election claiming a small tax hike of just 2.2% this year, but her total record since taking over for John Tory in 2023 is much worse.

Chow assumed office in July 2023 after winning a by-election to replace Tory that was called after he resigned after admitting to an affair with a staffer. In her campaign to replace Tory, her opponents claimed that Chow would raise taxes in a dramatic fashion, something she refused to confirm or deny.

Since taking office, Chow has cumulatively increased property taxes in Toronto by 20% on top of the 7% tax hike that Tory stuck us with on the way out the door. Since the last election, the Tory/Chow coalition — and they are many of the same people — have increased property taxes in Toronto by a cumulative 28%.

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Inflation over that time period has been 13%, according to the Bank of Canada.

All the while, city fees increase, and development charges go through the roof, making homes less affordable. It’s time to bring sanity and stability back to city hall and that means replacing Mayor Olivia Chow and many of the councillors around the table.

Mayor Chow is a highly likeable figure, I understand that and like her myself, but that doesn’t mean she has the right policies. The results would tell you that she doesn’t.

This fall, Toronto residents need to vote for someone who will deliver, not someone who will make promises.

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