"I will be laser focused on getting housing built in this city. I will deliver on my comprehensive plan to protect 237,000 renters, build 285,000 new homes with a minimum of 57,000 being purpose-built rental homes, and directly support at least 95,000 vulnerable residents."
Ana Bailão
Question from TRREB
Q1: In your opinion, what are the two greatest challenges facing the City of Toronto today?
candidate response
Residents are facing both an affordability and a housing crisis.
When my family chose to call Toronto home when I was 15, I felt a sense of opportunity here. That opportunity allowed my family to buy a home and put food on the table. It led to me graduating university, working in the private sector, and being elected as City Councillor for 12 years in the ward I grew up in, and Deputy Mayor for five.
I’m not hearing people feel that same sense of opportunity today. People are paying more and getting less, and many are being pushed out of Toronto because they can’t afford to live here.I know Toronto residents expect, deserve, and can have better from their city–better services, better transit, and more housing–and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get it done to make life better and more affordable.
My housing plan will urgently build more homes, create pathways out of homelessness, and protect residents and renters who have homes today. I am the only candidate with the experience and the track record of securing billions for our city from other governments for housing, and I have a plan to fix services, build housing, and make life more affordable.
Q2: If elected, will you support and accelerate the commitments made in the 2023 Housing Action Plan, including ending municipal exclusionary zoning by-laws and policies in Toronto that will allow and encourage more medium-density housing and purpose-built rental units?
Yes
Q3: If elected, would you support reducing approval times and other red tape barriers that limit the building of new housing in Toronto, thereby speeding up development?
Yes
Q4: If elected, would you push for more investment in critical infrastructure, such as transportation, to facilitate growth and housing by finding creative ways to secure funding from the provincial and federal governments?
Yes
Q5: If elected, would you commit to capping municipal costs added to new housing in order to limit further affordability erosion, and instead work together with the higher levels of government in finding new and sustainable funding mechanisms?
Yes
Q6: The City’s biggest and main source of revenue is property taxes. What would you support by way of annual property tax increases to maintain and/or improve the current services and programs the City provides?
Pegged to inflation
Q7: If elected, would you be willing to explore reform or adjustments to the Municipal Land Transfer Tax in Toronto? This might include increasing the first-time buyer rebate and indexing the MLTT rebate and tax thresholds to account for housing price inflation.
Yes
Q8: If you become the next mayor of Toronto, what is your top priority that you want to accomplish in the first 100 days in office?
My focus on day one, and for my first 100 days in office, will be rolling up my sleeves and getting to work fixing services, building housing, and making life more affordable in Toronto.
My first call will be to the Government of Ontario to make sure they take back responsibility for the Gardiner and the DVP again. I will spend the $200 million we spend every year to maintain and repair these roads, to fixing services like the TTC so they’re safe, reliable, clean and convenient.
I will invest in our transit system by reversing TTC service cuts, increasing cleaning schedules, hiring more TTC staff to have more eyes and ears on the platforms, and ensuring that we get wifi on the TTC. Our services need to work better for us – and I will make sure that happens.
I will be laser focused on getting housing built in this city. I will deliver on my comprehensive plan to protect 237,000 renters, build 285,000 new homes with a minimum of 57,000 being purpose-built rental homes, and directly support at least 95,000 vulnerable residents.
With the support of builders, unions, workers, Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament, and Councillors, I am the only candidate who is ready to work together with businesses, with communities, and with other governments to tackle the biggest challenges facing our city – from building more homes and fixing the TTC to making our city safer.
If elected, will you use the “strong mayor powers” to modify the budget to pay for your key priorities?
I believe in presenting a budget and holding senior staff accountable, but I will not use minority rule or impose my will on Council.
