Brad Bradford, a candidate in the upcoming Toronto mayoral race, announced on Thursday that his platform includes hiring an additional 1,000 police officers for the Toronto Police Service if he wins the election. The pledge was made public in a statement released at 12:56 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 23, 2026.
The proposed increase would surpass the current hiring initiative launched by Mayor Olivia Chow in 2025. Chow’s five‑year plan targets roughly 720 new officers, a figure that Bradford says his own proposal would exceed by a substantial margin.
Bradford did not provide a detailed timeline for the recruitment and deployment of the 1,000 officers, but he emphasized that the expansion would be a core component of his public safety strategy. He framed the promise as a response to community concerns about police staffing levels and crime prevention, positioning it as a key differentiator from the incumbent administration.
Mayor Chow’s existing plan, introduced two years ago, aims to gradually add the 720 officers over the five‑year period ending in 2030. The plan has been part of the city’s broader effort to address staffing shortfalls and improve response times. Bradford’s pledge, if realized, would represent a significant acceleration of those efforts, potentially reshaping the size and capacity of the police force within a single mayoral term.
The contrasting proposals are expected to be a focal point of the campaign as voters consider public safety priorities alongside other municipal issues. Both candidates have highlighted the importance of adequate police resources, but their approaches differ markedly in scale and timing.