Toronto mayoral candidate challenges incumbent on handling of antisemitism during debate

Toronto mayoral candidates traded sharp criticisms during the city's first televised debate hosted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, with challenger Chris Alexander directly confronting incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow over her record on public safety and her handling of rising antisemitism on Monday.

The flashpoint occurred during a candidate-led questioning segment when former cabinet minister and mayoral contender Chris Alexander pressed Mayor Chow on her absence from a community event last week focused on combating anti-Jewish hate. The forum, hosted by the Jewish Lawyers of Canada (JLC), was organized to allow candidates to present their strategies for tackling antisemitism, protecting community institutions, and strengthening public safety in the city.

Mayor Chow opted out of the event, with her campaign team telling local outlets she would not take part in any debates before the official launch of her re-election campaign.

Addressing the incumbent directly during Tuesday's debate, Alexander criticized her absence and the broader climate, stating, "You won't sit on the police board, you don't acknowledge that there are serious problems of crime in this city," and added, "but there is one community in this city that feels very much afraid and feels neglected by you, and those are Jewish Torontonians." Alexander further emphasized the severity of the issue, telling Chow, "You missed an important debate that would have been a debate with your presence about that issue. You failed them for three years, why did you not come to that discussion in a synagogue with Jewish Torontonians to talk about how we make them safe?"

Toronto mayor denounces antisemitism, emphasizes Jewish safety

Responding directly to the mounting pressure and her decision not to attend the forum, Mayor Chow maintained her stance, stating, "Antisemitism is unacceptable and wrong, the Jewish community should feel safe in our city, and I will continue to invest in communities and the work of confronting antisemitism head on." 

Alexander responded that "this is an issue that is unprecedented in our history in recent decades, the worst wave of hate crimes, acts of violence, threats against one community, and if it happens to one community, we all know in this room it can happen to any community. Why should anyone pick you as their next mayor when you are unable to fulfill your responsibility for basic public safety for a major community in this city?"

Chow defended her record by adding, "I will work together with the police and the communities to make sure that Jewish residents are protected," noting that her administration has consistently worked alongside city council and police over the past three years to bring people together and confront hate.

The live debate also included Brad Bradford, a city councilor challenging Chow. Bradford, along with Alexander, also participated in the debate hosted by JLC last week, where he too commented on the mayor's absence, stating, "I'm disappointed that the mayor wasn't here tonight because... we're not having a real conversation about antisemitism, about Jew-hatred, that's festered like an infection in the city over the past three years."

Emphasizing that leadership requires direct engagement, he added, "And the mayor's job is to be the mayor for everybody. And that means you've got to show up."

JLC calls for mayor to be proactive in addressing antisemitism

In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, JLC addressed the exchange and the incumbent's absence. While welcoming the fact that these issues were put directly to the mayor, the organization emphasized that condemnation alone is insufficient.

"Mayor Chow said that antisemitism is unacceptable and wrong. We agree," JLC stated. "But what was missing from the exchange was a substantive explanation of what Toronto’s strategy is going forward. City Council has taken positive steps, including the introduction of bubble-zone protections, but individual measures are not the same thing as a clear, comprehensive and measurable plan," said JLC.

JLC further stressed that leadership requires proactive strategies rather than reactive statements, noting that "condemnation is not a strategy and it is not a substitute for a plan. The Jewish community should not have to wait for the next incident to find out what its leaders intend to do differently."

B'nai Brith Canada's Chief Executive Officer Simon Wolle said in a statement to the Post, "It is shameful for the mayor to continually ignore the Jewish community at a time when many Jewish Torontonians feel abandoned. Antisemitism is a leading indicator of societal decay, and history shows that extremism never stops with one group. When a mayor tolerates the targeting of Jewish neighborhoods and businesses, it sends a clear signal to bad actors that the Jewish community is inconsequential and creates a permissive environment where hate and incitement are normalized. If a leader is too weak to stand up to targeted hate, they are too weak to govern. Everyone is vulnerable when a mayor picks and chooses which communities to support.”