Olivia Chow’s surprising pick to help her run for re-election in Toronto — and how it might change her campaign

A prominent Liberal adviser who helped Prime Minister Mark Carney to victory in last year’s federal election will play a leading role in Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s 2026 municipal campaign, the Star has learned.

Andrew Bevan — who was co-director of the federal Liberals’ 2025 national electoral push and a top aide to former Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne — will co-chair Chow’s re-election bid this fall, the mayor’s campaign confirmed. Michal Hay, the former Progress Toronto executive director who has been on parental leave as Chow’s chief of staff, will be the other co-chair.

Appointing Bevan to such a senior position signals a change in approach for Chow, a former NDP MP with deep ties to the party whose successful 2023 mayoral campaign was led by Hay and other strategists with New Democrat roots. It suggests that as she faces off in the Oct. 26 vote against a more conservative candidate — Beaches-East York councillor Brad Bradford — she’s pinning her re-election hopes on winning over more centrist Torontonians who often vote Liberal. The federal Liberal campaign that Bevan helped steer last year won 23 of the city’s 24 ridings. ---More...

Prominent Liberal adviser Andrew Bevan, who helped Mark Carney to victory in last year’s federal election will co-chair Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s 2026 municipal re-election campaign, the Star has learned.https://t.co/6KXgZSTn0T via @torontostar

— Lorrie Goldstein (@sunlorrie)July 23, 2026