The following newsletter went out to subscribers on August 11 with the headline Climate, Housing, Affordability: What’s at Stake This Election. Sign up for our monthly newsletter.
The City of Toronto will be holding an election on Monday, October 26.
This is an opportunity to vote for
- Mayor
- The City Councillor who will represent your ward on Council
- Your School Board Trustee (Learn more about what trustees do on our blog.)
The decisions made at City Hall affect all Toronto residents. Housing, transit, climate, and community wellbeing will all be shaped by the results of October’s elections.
Social Planning Toronto has begun compiling resources so that you and your communities can make an informed decision at the ballot box. Visit our website to learn more about how to vote, when advance voting is taking place, and who is running in the election, as well as details about upcoming events hosted by SPT and our partners, issue-specific fact sheets, and more. We will continue to update this page as more resources become available.
Social Planning Toronto and our organizing partners are excited to launch City for All, a non-partisan platform that outlines in detail what we need to build a city where everyone can thrive. This platform is a civic education and engagement tool that can be used to shape the conversation with candidates and neighbours on how to build a more affordable and livable city for all Torontonians.
Toronto has an election on October 26. With a new term of City Council on the horizon, this is our opportunity to come together and demand a better and more just Toronto.
City for All provides specific, implementable policy solutions supported by strong research, evidence, and community support focused on the following six pillars:
- Affordability
- Climate
- Economy
- Housing
- Transit
- Wellbeing
The 2026 City For All platform was developed in partnership with Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, Progress Toronto, Toronto Community Benefits Network, Toronto Environmental Alliance, and TTCRiders, with advisory support from Native Women’s Resource Centre, ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency, ACORN Toronto, and Learning Enrichment Foundation. To date, it has been endorsed by 25 organizations. It was informed by extensive community input from residents across Toronto. Learn more about how the platform was developed.
We would also like to invite you to join us on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30 PM as we launch the City for All platform. During this virtual community launch, we will summarize the major takeaways from the platform and review resources that we developed to help mobilize it. This is a virtual event. Learn more and register.
SPT will continue to provide resources on the upcoming election so that you can make an informed decision at the ballot box. In this newsletter, we’ve included details about our community engagement and voter information workshops, as well as our election fact sheets (now available in five languages). We will be sending a special election newsletter later this month announcing more events and opportunities to get involved. All our 2026 municipal election resources are available on our website, which is updated regularly.
Illustration by Janie Hao
In this issue:
- SPT’s Election Fact Sheets Now Available in Five Languages
- Learn How To Mobilize Communities With Our Election Engagement Toolkit
- SPT Event: Let's Talk About Voting: How to Engage Friends and Neighbours (Sept. 29)
- SPT Event: Let's Talk About Voting: How to Make an Informed Choice on Election Day (Oct. 6)
- Community Event: Toronto Mayoral Debate at Daily Bread Food Bank (Sept. 14)
- Community Event: Municipal Democratic Socialism: The Past, the Present and the Possible (Sept. 16)
- SPT and Partners Event: Our Faith, Our Neighbours, Our Vote (Oct. 8)
- SPT’s Submission to the Department of Finance ahead of the 2026 Federal Budget
- Take Action: Rally and March for Migrant Justice
- Take Action: Tell Your MP We Need to End Homelessness
- Take Action: Grassy Narrows River Run
SPT’s Election Fact Sheets Now Available in Five Languages
Social Planning Toronto has created six fact sheets outlining key issues this election, in line with each of the City For All pillars. Each fact sheet outlines proposed policy solutions, and questions you can ask your City Council candidates about how they plan to take action if elected.
The fact sheets are available in English, Tamil, Bengali, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese.
Learn How To Mobilize Communities With Our Election Engagement Toolkit
Social Planning Toronto and City For All have launched Building a City for All: An Election Engagement Toolkit, designed to walk community members through the basics of voting and elections engagement in a detailed, accessible way.
Topics covered include:
- How to host events and have conversations within your community about key policy issues before the election;
- How to vote in the municipal election with City for All in mind;
- How to continue advocating around local issues after the election.
SPT Event: Let's Talk About Voting: How to Engage Friends and Neighbours (Sept. 29)
Tuesday, September 29, 6 - 8 p.m., Virtual
Join SPT for an interactive workshop on how everyday conversations can help strengthen civic participation in the upcoming 2026 municipal election.
This workshop will explore practical and engaging ways to start meaningful conversations about voting with friends, family members, neighbours, and community members. Through interactive demonstrations and real-world examples, participants will learn how community-led outreach and peer-to-peer engagement can encourage greater participation in local elections and help ensure diverse community voices are reflected at the ballot box. Registration is required. ASL interpretation will be provided.
SPT Event: Let's Talk About Voting: How to Make an Informed Choice on Election Day (Oct. 6)
Tuesday, October 6, 6 - 8 p.m., Virtual
Join us for an interactive non-partisan workshop designed to help residents make informed choices in the upcoming municipal election. Participants will learn how to research candidates, compare policy positions, ask meaningful questions, and assess which candidates best align with their values and priorities. Whether you are voting for the first time or looking to become a more informed voter, this workshop will help you approach election day with greater confidence and clarity.
Registration is required. ASL interpretation will be provided.
Community Event: Toronto Mayoral Debate at Daily Bread Food Bank (Sept. 14)
Monday, September 14, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., 191 New Toronto Street (Livestream available)
Daily Bread Food Bank, with community partners including LAMP Community Health Centre and Scarborough United Neighbourhoods, is hosting Toronto’s first mayoral debate of the 2026 municipal election. The top three polling candidates were invited to speak at the event.
This event is free to attend, but registration is required to reserve your spot.
Community Event: Municipal Democratic Socialism: The Past, the Present and the Possible (Sept. 16)
Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., Virtual
This webinar hosted by SocialCommons.ca will consist of 4 panelists (including SPT's Executive Director Jin Huh) and will focus on understanding the history of municipal socialism in North America and elsewhere, to identify the lessons we can learn from this history, to discuss the agendas and strategies employed by socialists, and to explore if municipal democratic socialism is a promising and desirable approach for Canadian cities. This is a registered event.
SPT and Partners Event: Our Faith, Our Neighbours, Our Vote (Oct. 8)
Join SPT and the Faith in the City Coalition on October 8 at 7 p.m. for a virtual panel exploring the religious tenets that guide us in caring for our neighbours in the city. Esteemed speakers from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Jewish traditions will share insights on how these teachings inspire us to care for one another and strengthen our communities. The event will also explore how these values and teachings can encourage voter engagement this fall and help build a caring city for all. Learn more and register.
SPT’s Submission to the Department of Finance ahead of the 2026 Federal Budget
As a part of the Department of Finance's pre-budget consultations ahead of the 2026 Federal Budget, SPT put forward the following recommendations:
- Recommendation 1: Strengthen equitable income security and poverty measurement
- Recommendation 2: Advance a rights-based approach to housing and strengthen pathways out of homelessness
- Recommendation 3: Implement an End Child Poverty Supplement targeted to families with the lowest incomes
- Recommendation 4: Protect and expand the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care program (CWELCC)
- Recommendation 5: Expand and fully implement the National School Food Program
Read our detailed recommendations on our blog. Pre-budget submissions closed on September 8.
Take Action: Rally and March for Migrant Justice
SPT has joined 250 organizations across Canada in signing an open letter supporting international students from Portage College and defending migrants’ right to protest.
International students had been protesting unfair changes to the rules affecting their post-graduation work permits. In mid-July they set up a round-the-clock protest. On August 12, Calgary Police called CBSA to it. Ten protesters were issued removal orders that same day.
Migrant workers, international students, refugees, and undocumented people must be able to organize, speak out, and exercise their rights without putting their future in Canada at risk.
Read the open letter, penned by the Migrant Rights Network, and learn how your organization can endorse it.
On September 20, cities across Canada will be hosting a Cross-Country Day of Action for Migrant Rights. Rallies will be hosted to demand status for all, automatic renewal of expired and expiring work and study permits, an end to exploitation, and an end to deportations.
Toronto’s Rally and March for Migrant Justice will take place on Sunday, September 20, at 2:00 p.m., at Christie Pits Park (750 Bloor St. West). Learn more.
Take Action: Tell Your MP We Need to End Homelessness
The 2017 National Housing Strategy is set to expire in 2027/28. Discussions are happening now on what a future national housing strategy should look like. The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness has developed a five-point plan to address housing and insecurity. These include improving the Canada Housing Benefit, investing in deeply affordable and supportive housing, establishing intensive supportive housing for people with severe cognitive impairment, building a national homelessness strategy, and negotiating a Canada housing accord.
CAEH has created a phone script that you can use to call your local MP urging them to adopt the five recommendations.
Take Action: Grassy Narrows River Run
Grassy Narrows First Nation will be hosting a rally on Wednesday, September 23 at noon to fight for mercury justice. The exact location will be determined.
In the 1960s, the Dryden pulp and paper mill dumped 10 tonnes of mercury upstream of Grassy Narrows, which has had catastrophic health and psychological effects that have persisted through generations. An investigative report in found that youth suicide attempts in Grassy Narrows were three times as high as in other First Nations in Canada. Mercury contamination continues to affect the water, soil, and food. Grassy Narrows is suing the federal government for allowing the river to be polluted, and then neglecting to remediate it.
Grassy Narrows is inviting allies to walk in solidarity with their youth and community members in the ongoing movement for Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice.