Toronto storm puts climate resilience in election focus

A severe storm that hit Toronto last week is drawing new attention to climate resilience ahead of the city’s municipal election. The storm brought heavy rain, strong winds, fallen trees, flooding, and widespread disruption across the city. City officials later described the event as a 100year storm, and weather experts said Toronto received about a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. Environmental advocates said climate change likely intensified the storm and warned that similar events may become more common. The CBC Toronto election podcast examined how the city is preparing for future weather extremes and whether current measures are enough. Experts discussed Toronto’s longterm climate plan, TransformTO, and noted that the city has considered stormwater charges in the past but has not adopted one. Mayoral candidates have so far offered limited new climate commitments. Brad Bradford said he supports existing climate plans and wants to seek funding from other governments, while Olivia Chow’s campaign has not yet outlined a detailed climate plan. Chris Alexander’s campaign said he would have a commitment to the issue.