Toronto is an hour away from Toronto: Board of Trade launches election issue guides with a look at our congestion crisis

TORONTO, September 2, 2026 — With Torontonians heading to the polls on October 26, the Toronto Region Board of Trade today released the first in a series of three non-partisan issue guides designed to help voters understand what is at stake in the municipal election, beginning with congestion, transit and infrastructure.

The guide arrives as new Board polling finds that Torontonians name traffic congestion as one of the most important economic issues City Hall should address, behind only cost of living and housing affordability. Nearly seven in ten residents say congestion affects them personally, and 83 per cent say it has a major or moderate impact on Toronto's future prosperity and competitiveness.

"Getting around this city takes longer than it should, and Torontonians have stopped treating that as an inconvenience and started treating it as an economic problem," said Giles Gherson, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. "Congestion costs the region $44.7 billion a year and 88,000 jobs. Left alone, impacts will reach $85.5 billion a year by 2044. The next four years will be critical in addressing this critical issue."

The guide sets out three outcomes we are advocating for: keeping Toronto moving through better traffic flow and construction coordination, building a faster and more reliable transit network, and prioritizing infrastructure investment for growth.

It closes with four questions the Board is putting to every candidate for mayor and council:

1. How would you further empower the Chief Congestion Officer to address congestion and improve the performance of Toronto’s transportation network, including through the use of KPIs, smart technology, and stronger coordination across City divisions and agencies?
2. How would you support the TTC in delivering faster, more reliable, and more customer-focused transit service? What role do you see for initiatives such as fare and service integration, improved communications, wayfinding, and safety in growing ridership?
3. With more than $31 billion in unfunded capital needs, how would you develop a long-term fiscal framework to prioritize infrastructure investments and ensure resources are directed toward projects that deliver the greatest economic and community benefit?
4. How would you improve coordination of capital projects across the City, its agencies, and regional partners to accelerate infrastructure delivery, minimize congestion and disruption, and prepare Toronto for continued growth?

Guides on housing and land use, and on funding public services, follow later this month. All three are available at bot.com/whatsatstake.