About KnowYourVote T.O.

Know Your Vote T.O. brings together information on everyone running for Mayor of Toronto, Toronto City Council, and School Trustee across all four Toronto school boards (TDSB, TCDSB, Viamonde, and MonAvenir) — including where they stand on the issues you care about, and what each office does. It's here to help you make an informed choice in the 2026 municipal election.

Every candidate receives the same questions, the same space, and the same format, so you have a fair, side-by-side view of everyone running.. Know Your Vote T.O. doesn't endorse or prioritize any candidate.

Know Your Vote T.O. is part of the Toronto Public Library's Celebrate Democracy initiative.

Starting shortly after the candidate nomination deadline of August 21, 2026, the project team reached out to every registered candidate for Mayor, City Council, and School Trustee — by email, phone, or mail, using the contact information on their public nomination forms. Candidates who haven't responded get regular reminders. Some may have submitted answers that are still pending review; others may have chosen not to submit at all. New responses are added regularly, right up to the final submission deadline of October 16, 2026.

A profile that reads "Awaiting submission" simply means we haven't published an answer to that question yet — it doesn't mean the candidate declined. More information is in the Content Inclusion Standards.

No. Candidates write and submit their own content. TPL and the project team review it for compliance with the Content Inclusion Standards, but we don't verify the accuracy of any claim a candidate makes — including claims about other candidates' records. Everything published is the candidate's own words and views.

If you are unsure whether any election-related information is accurate, consult reliable sources and take time to check the facts. TPL's media literacy resources and staff can help.

Candidates are encouraged to write in their own words, but we don't verify whether AI or other tools were used in any response. We encourage you to independently verify what you read here, the same way we'd encourage you to verify any candidate's claims. If you are unsure whether any election-related information is accurate, consult reliable sources and take time to check the facts. TPL's media literacy resources and staff can help.

TPL is committed to making sure no candidate gets an unfair advantage through Know Your Vote T.O. A group of external advisors,  the Know Your Vote T.O. Advisory Group (KAG), reviewed the project's policies and practices to help confirm that:

• fair, reasonable steps were taken to contact and remind every candidate about the opportunity to take part;
• the questions candidates were asked, and the other information published on the site, are fair, balanced, and reasonable; and
• the standards for what candidates can and can't submit are reasonable and clearly explained.

KAG is made up of seven Torontonians representing a range of sectors, communities, and viewpoints. 

This project follows TPL's Use of Library Resources During an Election Period Policy.

Yes. The site can be translated into many languages using Google Translate, available right on the page — the same tool used on toronto.ca. Know Your Vote T.O. can't guarantee the accuracy of these translations, since Google Translate is an automated, third-party tool that can make mistakes or produce inconsistent results.

This matters most for candidate responses, since some are written in French and others in English. Where you can, read a candidate's response in the language they wrote it in, rather than relying on a translation.

Candidates for School Trustee with Conseil scolaire Viamonde and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (Toronto's French-language school boards) submit their responses in French. Every other candidate, including Trustee candidates from TDSB and TCDSB, submits in English. This isn't a choice: French responses get a longer character limit to make up for how much more space French typically needs to say the same thing in English, so keeping submissions to one language per board keeps that limit fair for everyone.

Yes. Candidates for Mayor, City Council, and School Trustee can each submit:

1. A response to each Big Issue question — up to 550 characters including spaces (about 75 words), or up to 650 characters for Viamonde and MonAvenir candidates writing in French.
2. A link to a campaign website, their social media profiles, and a campaign email address. No other links are allowed.
3. One close-cropped profile photo.

More information is in the Content Inclusion Standards.

We aim to step in as little as possible and let each candidate's submission speak for itself. That said, to keep the site welcoming and safe, TPL can decline to publish a response it reasonably believes promotes discrimination or hatred, or contains violent, threatening, abusive, or harassing language. More information is in the Content Inclusion Standards.

How were the questions selected?

The project team worked with the Know Your Vote T.O. Advisory Group to develop the Big Issue topics and the candidate questions tied to them. Each question was designed to:

• stay politically neutral in how it's framed;
• be easy to understand, for candidates and readers alike;
• give candidates room to highlight their own priorities;
• reflect issues that are contextually pertinent; 
• match something the relevant office (Mayor, City Council, or School Trustee) has power to address; and
• be quick and straightforward to review.

The project team worked with the Know Your Vote T.O. Advisory Group to develop the Big Issue topics and the candidate questions tied to them. Each question was designed to:

• stay politically neutral in how it's framed;
• be easy to understand, for candidates and readers alike;
• give candidates room to highlight their own priorities;
• reflect issues that are contextually pertinent; 
• match something the relevant office (Mayor, City Council, or School Trustee) has power to address; and
• be quick and straightforward to review.

Visit our content concern page to report it. Include the candidate's name and ward, the specific content you're concerned about, and why you believe it doesn't meet the Content Inclusion Standards. You'll get an acknowledgement that your request was received — the project team doesn't share its reasoning or the outcome beyond that.

No. The only thing we check for is the language covered above — content that's violent, threatening, abusive, harassing, or promotes hatred or discrimination. Beyond that, we intervene as little as possible so each candidate's submission is theirs.

Know Your Vote T.O. is a Toronto Public Library project. The Library's mission is to preserve and promote universal access to knowledge, experience, and ideas in a welcoming, supportive environment — and since access to information is fundamental to democracy, the Library built Know Your Vote T.O. to help Torontonians get informed about their candidates for Mayor, City Council, and, new this year, School Trustee.

Celebrate Democracy is the Toronto Public Library's initiative to help Torontonians learn about —and take part in— democracy, well beyond the ballot box. It brings together resources across TPL: the Know Your Vote website, reading lists for all ages, and in-branch workshops, lectures, and events across the city. More information is available on the Celebrate Democracy webpage.

See our Data Policy for details on what information we collect from site visitors and how we use it. 

For TPL programs and services generally, contact Answerline. For media inquiries: media@tpl.ca. For anything else about Know Your Vote T.O., contact Nan Davies, Project Lead, Toronto Public Library, at knowyourvote@tpl.ca.

Email candidate@knowyourvote.to · Call 647-483-9555 Business hours, voicemail after hours. We reply to email within two business days. If you are waiting on an email from us, check your junk or spam folder before you call.