Brad Bradford


Brad Bradford is a Canadian urban planner and politician. He was elected to the Toronto City Council following the 2018 Toronto municipal election, and represents Ward 19 Beaches—East York.
Bradford was appointed a commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission Board by city council on December 13, 2018. He also sits on council committees, the Budget Committee, and the Planning and Housing Committee.
Prior to his election, Bradford worked as an planner for the City of Toronto. He holds a bachelor of environmental studies degree, in urban and regional environments from York University, and a masters degree in urban planning from the University of Waterloo.

Political career

During the 2018 municipal election campiagn, Bradford received endorsements from Mayor John Tory, Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão, former Liberal member of Provincial Parliament, Arthur Potts, Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, and former Toronto chief planner and mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat. These endorsements helped Bradford defeat candidate Matthew Kellway, who represented Beaches—East York federally from 2011 to 2015 as the New Democratic member of Parliament.
Bradford ran as a progressive candidate, citing his background in the Toronto City Planning division as proof of his city building experience.

Work on council

2019 budget

Bradford's first budget was contentious as councillors Shelley Carroll and Mike Layton presented last minute motions intended to gather information beyond the budget process. He voted against all of these motions which distressed concerned parties.

Term limits

Bradford brought a motion to the city council on term limits, which was seconded by Ana Bailão and referred to the Special Committee on Governance. The motion cited numerous examples where term limits facilitated a more representative council makeup by eliminating incumbent advantage. He was opposed by left-leaning Councillor Gord Perks and right-leaning Councillor Jim Karygiannis.
The motion was deferred indefinitely, but if successful it would have needed provincial approval in order to be passed into law.

Hansard transcripts

Bradford also introduced a motion at city council to explore the use of Hansard to increase transparency and engagement at City Hall.

Election results