Toronto Municipal Election 2026

Overview

Overview

The Government of Ontario is planning to meet Toronto’s electricity needs by building new high-cost nuclear reactors and ramping up the output of the Portlands gas plant on our waterfront.

This will lead to higher electricity rates and more pollution.

Fortunately, we can lower our electricity bills and clear the air by investing in much lower cost wind and solar energy.

OCAA asked candidates these two questions:

1. Should the City of Toronto and Toronto Hydro develop a plan to increase local solar electricity generation by 2.8 billion kWh per year by 2030 (the equivalent of what the Portlands gas plant produced in 2024)? This could be achieved by installing more solar panels on City-owned buildings and parking lots and by encouraging local residents, big box stores and other commercial, institutional and industrial buildings to install solar.

2. Should Toronto Hydro undertake a preliminary feasibility study on the potential locations (near shore and far offshore) and costs and benefits of a Lake Ontario offshore wind farm?

BONUS: Environmental Defence’s Renewables-Ready Toronto pledge calls on municipal candidates to champion local renewable energy, like rooftop solar and battery storage, while reducing Toronto’s reliance on polluting gas-fired electricity. See which candidates have signed the pledge and committed to a cleaner, more affordable energy future for Toronto by scrolling down the page.

Responses Overview

Etobicoke-Lakeshore Candidate Responses

Anthony Internicola

Renewables-Ready Toronto: This candidate has signed Environmental Defence’s pledge to advance local renewable energy and reduce reliance on gas-fired electricity.

Additional comments

Mihaela Andrei

Renewables-Ready Toronto: This candidate has signed Environmental Defence’s pledge to advance local renewable energy and reduce reliance on gas-fired electricity.

Additional comments

Mihaela Andrei

1. Question 1 (solar electricity): Yes

2. Question 2 (offshore wind): Yes

Renewables-Ready Toronto: This candidate has signed Environmental Defence’s pledge to advance local renewable energy and reduce reliance on gas-fired electricity.

Additional comments

I signed the Renewables-Ready Pledge, and I stand behind it. Phase out gas generation at the Portlands by 2035, and use the City’s ownership of Toronto Hydro to build local clean power.

Solar first. Start with what the City already owns: roofs on community centres, libraries, arenas and TTC facilities, and canopies over City parking lots. Then make it easy for everyone else. Faster permits, Toronto Hydro connections that don’t take a year, and a clear path for private residential homes, condo corporations and local businesses to add panels.

2.8 billion kWh by 2030 is a steep target, and the plan has to say honestly how close we can get and at what cost. Every project gets a published business case, competitive tendering and a payback period. Clean energy should lower bills, not raise property taxes.

Offshore wind. A feasibility study is the right first step, and Etobicoke-Lakeshore residents deserve to be at the table, because it is our shoreline. Turbines 10 to 15 km out are barely visible from land; the study should confirm that, along with costs, fish and bird impacts, and grid connection. Ontario’s pause on offshore wind means the City will need the Province at the table, and I will press for that.

I oversee a budget of over $10 million a year for a 1,285-unit community. I know how to get contractors to deliver on time and on budget, and that is how I will approach this.