Bradford proposes public water utility; Chow vows no giveaway

Brad Bradford, a candidate for mayor, proposes making Toronto Water a publicly owned utility, modelled on Toronto Hydro, and cutting water bills by 25%, NOW Toronto reported. He says the average household would save about $300 a year.

Campaign spokesperson Laryssa Waler said council would appoint the board and the City would hold every share, as with Toronto Hydro. The campaign says a municipal bylaw would prohibit private investment in the utility.

NOW Toronto reported that Mayor Olivia Chow said at a campaign stop she would never give Toronto’s water away. David Suzuki, who joined her, argued that privatizing a public service such as water leads to its failure.

The province amended its water corporation law in Bill 98, which received Royal Assent, the final step in becoming law, on June 2, 2026. The amendments explicitly prohibit private ownership in any new water and wastewater public corporation, to keep it 100% public. The provincial text speaks of private ownership; the campaign’s bylaw would prohibit private investment.

The law also bars moving water and wastewater debt from municipalities to the new corporation, and lets the Minister make future regulations on municipal debt. Municipalities and associations cautioned during consultation that this could leave municipalities paying the debt without matching revenue, potentially shifting costs onto property taxes. Consultation comments also said that leaving key decisions to future regulations creates uncertainty for municipalities and ratepayers.

How those rules would apply to Mr Bradford’s proposed utility is not yet known. Voters go to the polls on October 26.

Sources: NOW Toronto · Environmental Registry of Ontario (Government of Ontario)