The upcoming 2026 Toronto Municipal Elections are a pivotal time to ensure your voice and opinions are heard. Many of the issues that affect you everyday as a student are impacted by municipal policy. By voting, you can ensure that the future direction of your city best reflects your values.
Transit
A Municipal Responsibility, A Municipal Fix
The majority of the decision makers at the TTC Board are your city councillors. They make decisions on fares, routes, and services. The candidates asking for your vote come October will have direct power over the fare you pay, how reliable your commute is, and whether you get to your destination.
The TTC is Leaving You Behind
Starting September, the TTC is rolling out fare capping. Instead of paying your transit cost upfront via a monthly pass, you tap your card each ride and after 47 rides per month you will no longer be charged. Fare capping spreads of transit costs across the entire month and will save adults, seniors and youth money.
But post-secondary students were not included. The current fare capping plan will save you no money.
Post-secondary students will still be required to purchase a post-secondary student monthly pass after acquiring a TTC Post-Secondary Student ID card. You are the only group of riders who will be required to pay their entire monthly transit fare upfront. You are the only group of riders who have to plan their entire month of rides out at the start of the month to determine if a monthly pass makes sense. You are the only group of riders who will not be saving money with fare capping.
That is why we are asking for:
- A digitalized Post-Secondary Student ID for the TTC so that you no longer have to go in-person to receive a card, and;
- A discount Post-Secondary Student single ride fare, allowing you to be incorporated into fare capping, gaining you the flexibility everyone else already will have
Delays Are Not Inevitable
You have experienced the unpredictability of the TTC. A bus that never arrives. A streetcar that does not move for minutes. An unexpected subway closure. These are not unavoidable.
The decisions made by your elected politicians such as dedicated transit lanes, signal priority, or modernization of aging infrastructure can directly improve the reliability of the TTC. It should not be faster to walk than take the streetcar. Platform level disturbance can be addressed from platform edge doors, community crisis response teams, or other programs. Poor service is not inevitable, it can be changed if you elect politicians that prioritize the vital public transit system you rely on.
That is why we are asking for:
- Expansions to the Community Crisis Responses teams to keep you and your fellow Torontonians safe and reduce disruptions to TTC service.
The bottom line: the TTC is a municipal service, run by municipal politicians. The candidates on your ballot this October will decide what the TTC looks like over the next four years. Your vote gets to decide whether students are part of that conversation.
Food Security
A Municipal Responsibility, A Municipal Fix
Whether you can count on affordable, accessible food in this city is shaped by decisions made by your elected municipal politicians. How the people you elect choose to invest in programs already working to address food insecurity could make the difference between whether you have to skip a meal or not.
Programs Are Stretched Thin
Toronto already funds food security supports that you or your peers may already be using such as: community food banks, Community Markets, and even a City run grocery store pilot aimed at bringing down grocery costs in certain neighbourhoods. Demand for these programs is increasing and students are being turned away or rationing what little support is available.
That is why we are asking for:
- Increased funding for food banks, community markets, and City-run grocery initiatives, so you do not have to choose between groceries and rent.
The bottom line: Programs already exist to ensure you do not have to skip a meal. Whether they meet demand is a decision made by whoever you elect this October.
Employment
A Municipal Responsibility, A Municipal Fix
Youth unemployment in Ontario hit 15.7% in 2026, the highest of any age group. For post-secondary students trying to afford to study in Toronto, a part-time job or co-op placement may be how you afford to live in this city.
Programs Already Exist, Just Not for You
The City already requires major contractors to commit to workforce development through its Social Procurement Policy. Those requirements could be targeted to give you paid, practical work experience.
That is why we are asking for:
- Adding requirements for paid co-op, internship, or apprenticeship opportunities for youth to the Social Procurement Policy, giving you a real shot at experience in a difficult job market.
This is not the only option your elected municipal leaders will have. Expansions to the Toronto Youth Job Corps could result in more meaningful paid work opportunities for you.
The bottom line: the mechanism to create youth jobs through City contracts already exists. Whether it works for you is a decision made by whoever you elect this October.
Housing
A Municipal Responsibility, A Municipal Fix
Your city councillor decides how the City enforces housing standards in Toronto, including whether landlords who let units fall into disrepair actually face consequences. Housing is a complex issue, but actions taken by your municipal government can help address the housing crisis.
Enforcement, Not Just Policy
Toronto has RentSafeTO, a program meant to hold landlords accountable for maintaining safe, livable rental buildings. A policy on paper only works if it is enforced. Underfunded inspections and slow follow-through means too many students are still living with mold, broken heat, and unanswered maintenance requests.
That is why we are asking for:
- Expanding RentSafeTO enforcement, so the protections that already exist on paper actually show up in your building.
More Than Enforcement
Enforcement is not the only tool your municipal politicians have to address your housing situation. Zoning bylaws decide what kind of housing can be built and where. Restrictive zoning keeps the supply of affordable units artificially low. Developer charges and requirements shape whether new buildings include genuinely affordable units, or price you out entirely. A tax on unused units or vacant lots can push empty properties back into the rental market instead of sitting idle while you struggle to afford housing. And the property tax structure itself can bias the types of building being built and the costs you pay to rent them. Your decisions on who you elect as city councillor and mayor will directly shape where you can afford to live.
The bottom line: the municipal government has the ability to impact the quality of your housing. Whether bylaws are enforced and initiatives made to reduce your rent is a municipal decision made by whoever you elect this October.