Chow vs. Bradford – Cut Out the ‘Propaganda Machine’ at Work, and It’s an Easy Choice. 

Please note: This guest column is written by an opinion writer and is not meant to endorse any candidate currently in the race for city mayor; it is only meant to highlight the candidate’s track record and their stance(s) on key issues. It does not represent the viewpoint of either Muslim Network TV or its sister organization, GTA Muslims Today.

“Brad cuts through Chow’s lead,” “Brad is neck and neck with Chow, “Bradford leads Chow by 1+ points” are just some of the headlines that have dominated the news cycle for the last month. The entities behind these claims? Two local ‘newspapers’ who have waged a war of attrition against Mayor Olivia Chow ever since she declared that Israel committed a genocide in Gaza. As one journalist writing for Toronto’s top newspaper recently quipped: “Canada may not have an AIPAC. But we have something equally nefarious – media houses batting for Israel.”

If one were to look for Bradford’s unsuitability to be the mayor of Toronto, one doesn’t have to look beyond these two leading Zionist mouthpieces in Toronto, which have been masquerading as newspapers for decades. One of them even carried an editorial piece recently with a screaming banner stating joyfully: “Bradford – our choice for Toronto mayor,” as if this endorsement is all that’s required to prove Bradford’s fitness to govern a bustling metropolis thousands of miles from Tel Aviv – both literally and figuratively.  

In a perfect world, where elections are still expected to be free from interference from foreign lobby groups, this should have been enough for the city’s election watchdogs to question Brad’s loyalty to the city he wants to represent. But sadly, we live in a world where the blood of 84,363 murdered Palestinians, including 23,000 slain children, is still not considered enough to prove there’s an ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Fortunately for us, not every media house is on a foreign lobby’s payroll.

Globe and Mail, a leading national daily, quickly recognized Bradford’s propaganda machine. “Brad Bradford is scared of Toronto, and he thinks you should be too,” the paper wrote.

“His campaign rhetoric has painted a consistent picture of a dirty and dangerous Toronto filled with disorder. And the implied lesson is clear. In these dark times, only one man, accompanied by the 1,000 police officers he’s pledged to hire, can save us.”

“But in Toronto of 2026, it is not true. During Ms. Chow’s three years as mayor, the City of Toronto has become significantly safer and is one of Canada’s safest cities. Murders, shootings, and violent crime are all down substantially. Last year’s homicide total was the lowest in 50 years. Car thefts, which spiked after the height of the pandemic, have come down dramatically in the past three years,” adds the newspaper.

For now, Brad’s “campaign of darkness reflects poorly on the city and on him.” The truth is that Toronto is a wonderfully vibrant place. The streets are filled with a rich mix of humanity, of people who want to be here and who are ready to look out for their neighbors.

But what exactly is Bradford’s own track record of governance that Israeli media believes qualifies him to lead a city as large and diverse as Toronto?

1.   A week ago, residents of Beaches-East York, Ward 19, which Bradford has governed for almost 8 years, got together to start a petition titled: “How Brad Failed!” Nearly 1,000 residents of Brad’s Ward signed an open letter sharing their story. Ignoring emails, not showing up, flip-flopping on issues, and failing to keep promises are just a few reasons Brad’s constituents don’t think he deserves to become mayor.
2.   Renters have no love for him. Every time council moved to help renters, Bradford found a reason to vote no. No to strengthening the Rental Housing Supply Program. No to expanding incentives for purpose-built rental. No to going further on Toronto Builds. And no, three years running, to budgets that fund the Rent Bank, eviction prevention and tenant support.
3.   TTC riders don’t like to know him. Since 2018, Brad’s voted to hike TTC fares and cut services. When the 2026 budget froze fares and funded school meals, he called it vote-buying. When the TTC put crisis workers on the system so riders, and especially women riding alone at night, have someone to turn to, he called it window dressing. Higher fares, less safety.
4.   In a trade war, he backed American tech giants. While Toronto pulled American products off shelves and revised procurement rules to favor Canadian companies, Bradford moved to keep City dollars flowing to two giant American rideshare corporations.

And the list goes on. It’s over to you and your vote, now.