Olivia Chow (Chinese: 鄒至蕙; Cantonese Yale: Jāu Ji-waih; born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 66th mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023.

[6] She emigrated to Canada with her family in 1970 at the age of 13, settling in Toronto, where they first lived on the third floor of a rooming house in the Annex, before moving to a high-rise unit in St. James Town.

[15][16] Beginning in 1986, Chow sought for programming to protect students on the basis of sexuality, spurred by incidents of harassment she was shown, and by the murder of Kenneth Zeller, a school librarian.

This led to the introduction of what was believed to be Ontario's first sexuality school program, approved in May 1988 with support of director of education Ned McKeown.

Chow, a cycling advocate, was renowned for her trademark bicycle, decorated with flowers and bright colours, which she rode every day to Toronto City Hall.

With support from Jack Layton, a new urban focus of the NDP, and higher party popularity nationwide, she was widely expected to win despite some criticism from voters who elected her to a municipal seat just six months prior.

As Silva was not allowed to run for re-election, Chow's constituency assistant Helen Kennedy ran but lost to Adam Vaughan.

On June 3, 2008, Chow, "who [originally] brought in the motion",[attribution needed] voted to implement a program which would "allow conscientious objectors ... to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations ... to ... remain in Canada".

"[29][30][31] After Prime Minister Stephen Harper sought and received permission to seek a new mandate in 2008, Chow would reintroduce the same motion in the 40th Canadian Parliament.

Her other major rivals in the election, former provincial Opposition leader John Tory, councillor Karen Stintz and former budget chief David Soknacki as well as Ford himself, were all centre-right candidates.

Supporters included former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister George Smitherman (who was the runner-up to Ford in the 2010 mayoral election) and filmmaker Deepa Mehta.

[46] She also released policies about expanding after-school recreation programs for children aged 6–11,[47] as well as creating 5,000 jobs and training opportunities for young people through community benefits agreements.

Her housing platform also includes policies aimed at supporting tenants, including combatting renovictions, doubling Toronto's rent bank, establishing a $100 million fund to purchase rental properties from private landlords and transferring them to not-for-profits, and expanding RentSafeTO, the city's building standards enforcement program.

[52][53][54] On transit, Chow proposed converting the Line 3 Scarborough corridor into a busway, once it has been decommissioned, estimated to cost $60 million with funding coming from savings realized by cancelling the Gardiner Expressway rebuild east of Cherry Street.

She would reverse cuts made to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in the 2023 budget and expand cell phone service on the subway system to all networks.

[54][53] Chow promised to create a team to reduce 9-1-1 wait times and expand the Toronto Community Crisis Service city-wide.

Ausma Malik was named the new deputy mayor of Toronto, taking over from Jennifer McKelvie, who would continue to hold the title in an honorary capacity along with Mike Colle and Amber Morley.

[63] On December 16, 2024, she dismissed Brad Bradford from his role as vice-chair of the City’s Planning and Housing Committee and replaced him with Frances Nunziata.

[65] Absent financial assistance from other levels of government, the city would be forced use its reserve fund in order to avoid running a deficit.

[66] Due to a decline in revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Toronto relied on transfer payments from other levels of government to sustain its operating budget.

[69][70] Chow noted that the city was carrying $1.1 billion in services on behalf of the provincial and federal governments, while Ford committed to avoiding new taxes.

[71] On October 30, ahead of their second meeting, Chow and Ford wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to join the working group.

[73] On November 27, 2023, Chow and Ford held a joint press conference where they announced that the city and province had come to an agreement regarding a "new deal".

In the deal, the province would take over responsibility for the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway, as well as a $300 million dollar transfer for transit operations and safety.

[76] As part of the agreement, the City of Toronto also conceded that it does not have the ability to stop the province's controversial plans to redevelop Ontario Place into a private spa and water park, breaking a promise Chow made during her campaign.

The initial staff budget proposed a 10.5 per cent property tax increase, contingent on the federal government providing $250 million to house refugee claimants.

In January 2025, she announced that TTC fares would be frozen for the second straight year, with Chow introducing a 5.8 per cent increase in service hours that addresses challenges such as traffic congestion.

[83] In January 2025, Chow announced that the federal, provincial, and municipal governments would provide $975 million to build 14,000 new homes near the Toronto waterfront.

[93] Right-leaning Toronto Sun commentator Brian Lilley praised the cost savings of Chow's decision to cancel the renaming of the street, describing it as a "compromising between what she wanted and what was possible".

[94] Chow supported a motion introduced by Councillor Paul Ainslie in December 2023 to rename Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke after former mayor Rob Ford, who died in 2016.