BradfordFacts

Fact-checking Brad Bradford, one post at a time.

Topic

budget

2 claims · All topics

Misleading

Bradford says families are "counting the minutes" waiting for 911. That wait was cut in half two years ago.

Claim“Families deserve to know they won't be counting the minutes after calling 911. Seniors deserve to feel safe taking transit. That's why I'm committing to hiring 1,000 new front-line police officers to strengthen neighbourhood policing, support officers who are being asked to do more, and help Toronto catch up with other major cities. The status quo isn't enough. Let's build a city we can be proud of: https://bradford26.ca/sign-up”

The 911 delays Bradford invokes were real in 2023 and have since been halved, from 26.7 minutes to 12.6, under the approach he calls the status quo. The chart he published to prove Toronto is understaffed starts its axis at 150, drawing a 22% gap as a 70% one. His underlying staffing numbers check out; the case he builds on them points the other way.

Unsubstantiated

Bradford says Toronto trains officers and loses them to better-staffed forces. The service's own budget says they're retiring.

Claim“A safe city isn't built by asking people to do more with less. My plan will hire 1,000 more police officers to serve our communities and back up existing officers.”

TPS attributes its rising separations to a demographic bulge: officers hired in the mid-1990s, after the hiring freezes of the late 1980s, reaching retirement age now. Neither the 2025 nor the 2026 budget notes mention other police services at all, and 2025 separations came in below forecast. Officers may well leave for other forces — but nothing published shows it happening at a rate worth building a policy on.