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Toronto’s Municipal Election is a Critical Moment for 2SLGBTQ+ Communities
Monday, October 26 is Election Day in Toronto!
There’s so much at stake.
Across Toronto, the skyrocketing cost of housing is hitting our communities especially hard. For many 2SLGBTQ+ people, including seniors, refugees, youth, and people living with disabilities, it’s becoming even harder to get by in the midst of an affordability crisis that’s affecting everyone.
Our public spaces are under growing strain as the challenges facing our community are becoming more visible and complex. We all share the goal of reducing the number of people in our communities experiencing homelessness, addiction, and barriers to meeting their basic needs. Lasting change means addressing the root cause of these circumstances.
We’re also facing intensifying impacts of climate change including extreme heat, storms, wildfire smoke, and other hazardous weather conditions. Extreme weather events surface the inequalities already present in our communities; we need a municipal government that understands the needs of our communities when responding to the effects of climate change.
Municipal elections are an important opportunity to have your voice heard and help shape the communities we live in. In a municipal election, you’ll cast a vote for a mayoral candidate, a City Councilor, and a School Board trustee. You can read more about your local candidates at the City of Toronto election website. Your vote matters! Exercising our civic duty is one way we can help influence decisions that affect our everyday lives, including housing, transit, community services and more.
We need to tell our loved ones, neighbours, and candidates why we vote.
Cover photo by Jamo Best
During this municipal election, we're sharing why we vote, and encouraging you to do the same.
Affordable Housing:
2SLGBTQ+ people make up about 5% of Toronto’s general population, but 22% of its surveyed homeless population, a number that has doubled from 2021 to 2024. 2SLGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience chronic homelessness and homelessness at younger ages. Too many members of our community are struggling with unsafe shelter conditions including stigma and discrimination, rising housing costs and bad faith eviction or tenancy actions from landlords.
Our city needs dedicated 2SLGBTQ+ shelters, housing and homelessness supports specifically designed for and by 2SLGBTQ+ people and rent protections that allow people to stay in their homes.
More housing doesn’t necessarily equal more affordability. Many new developments now include a small percentage of affordable units, but we need stronger investment in building affordable housing. Affordable developments are needed to bring real relief for Torontonians, ensuring that everyone in our city has a safe place to live.
Ask your candidates:
- How do you plan to help the rising number of unhoused 2SLGBTQ+ people feel safe to access shelters and homelessness supports?
- How do you plan to help people with no fixed address access housing, specifically community members who are more likely to experience homelessness?
- How will you work with private builders to prioritize affordability in new developments?
- What measures will you take to ensure all Torontonians, including 2SLGBTQ+ people, can afford a place to live?
Community Health and Harm Reduction
The issues facing our communities today are the result of complex, intersecting factors. Community organizations are lacking the resources they need as well as the intergovernmental cooperation necessary to tackle overlapping issues related to homelessness, drug poisoning, and mental health crises.
The closure of supervised consumption sites has left people with fewer safe places to go, shifted more substance use to outdoor areas, and increased community-wide displacement. Our neighbours are experiencing gaps in housing and healthcare, as well as social supports that require sustained funding.
Ask your candidates:
- How will you support compassionate mental health care in our ward?
- What actions will you take to reduce overdose deaths and expand access to supports for people who use drugs in Toronto?
- How will you support housing options in our ward that include mental health and addiction services?
Infrastructure/Climate Change
As climate change intensifies, severe weather events are becoming more common, and each extreme weather event exposes the inequalities already present in our communities. 2SLGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience homelessness because of discrimination, and a lack of shelter immediately puts someone at a much higher level of risk in extreme weather.
2SLGBTQ+ people are also more likely to be lower income, which means they may live in housing that is vulnerable to extreme weather, and have less money and resources saved up for potential life-altering events. Torontonians need quality, resilient, and affordable housing that is safe under all circumstances.
Our city needs infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather, like streets that are flood resilient, and a reliable power grid. Residents need stronger maximum indoor temperature protections, public cooling spaces, and accessible green spaces to reduce heat illness incidents.
Ask your candidates:
- What investments should Toronto prioritize to prepare for more extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and severe storms?
- How would you ensure Toronto’s emergency preparedness plans account for people who are experiencing homelessness?
- What can The City do to make our housing and infrastructure more resistant to extreme weather?
Refugee Support
While the federal government is responsible for administering the immigration and refugee system, municipalities and local organizations often manage many settlement and support services. This can include supporting refugee claimants through the legal process, and helping newcomers meet basic needs, find employment, and access skill-building opportunities.
City council distributes grants that allow local organizations to do this work, and many organizations are struggling to accommodate an increase in demand for support with fewer resources.
The 519 supported almost 10,000 refugee claimant clients in 2025 alone. In Toronto’s 2024 Street Needs Assessment, refugee claimants made up more than half of people experiencing homelessness. More needs to be done to ensure those who come to Canada for safety truly find it.
Ask your candidates:
- How would you address the underfunding crisis that leaves Toronto’s shelter system unable to meet the needs of all residents, including refugee claimants?
- What will you do to create opportunities for refugee claimants to find stable employment upon resettlement?
- How will you support community organizations facing growing demand for refugee and newcomer services?
- As federal health coverage for refugees shrinks, the demand on Toronto shelters and local community organizations grows. How do you plan to manage this impact on our city services?
How to Vote
Voting day is on October 26th from 10am to 8pm, and advanced voting is from October 6th to October 11th, from 10am to 7pm.
You need one piece of acceptable identification (ID) showing your name and Toronto address. Click here to learn more.
To vote in Toronto’s upcoming municipal election you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older, and live within the city limits of Toronto.
You may also be eligible if you or your spouse own or rent property in Toronto, even if you live elsewhere.
Trans and Non-Binary Voters
You are not required to show ID that includes a sex/gender indicator.
Your voter information must match the name on your ID. If you no longer identify with the name on your ID, DON’T change your voter information to reflect your true name until after you have changed your official ID.
The name on your ID must match the name on your voter information record. You can change your voter information by visiting Toronto.ca/Elections, by calling 311, or by emailing VoterRegistration@Toronto.ca between the dates of September 1st and October 11th.
You can also change your voter information in-person when you go in to vote, but doing it yourself in advance may be a more comfortable experience.
If you feel that your voting location may not be a safe space for you, you can choose to vote by mail or by proxy. You may also want to take advantage of the early voting period, when voting locations are typically less crowded and lines may be shorter.
Voters Without a Fixed Address
The place you’ve slept or eaten most often in the five weeks leading up to the election can be considered your address. This can include a shelter you stay at, or a drop-in you frequent.
You can request a shelter or drop-in you visit provide you with a letter to confirm their location as your address. This may ease the voting process, but you do not actually need such a letter to vote.
If you are 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen, and have slept or eaten most often in Toronto in the last five weeks, you are eligible to vote, and poll workers should help you perform a Voters’ List Amendment Application when you go in to vote.
Can't Vote? You can still get involved!
We know how frustrating it can be to feel left out of decisions that impact you and your loved ones. But don’t forget, your voice and your efforts still matter! Even if you can’t vote, you can still get involved.
Making a difference starts with showing up. Ensure that those around you are ready to make their voices heard. Direct the people in your life who are eligible to vote to visit the City of Toronto election website and make a plan to vote.
Talk to your family and friends about what’s happening in the news and how they feel about it. Remind them that their elected officials often have a say in changing the events that your loved ones are most passionate about.