September 10, 2026
For Immediate Release

Does Brad Bradford agree with his latest endorser’s position on handguns?

This is just the latest in a long list of troubling endorsements for Brad

TORONTO — Conservative MP Scott Aitchison—who represents Parry Sound–Muskoka, three hours outside of Toronto—recently endorsed Brad Bradford, saying he believes that Bradford is “100%” the right candidate for mayor. It’s the latest in a troubling pattern of endorsements for Bradford.

Aitchison is a longtime opponent of gun control: in 2023, he voted against legislation to impose a national freeze on handguns and, in his unsuccessful bid to become Conservative Leader, pledged to cancel the freeze. 

When Toronto City Council and former Mayor John Tory overwhelmingly called on Ottawa to ban the sale of handguns in the city in 2018, Aitchison wasn’t shy in declaring his opposition:  “I’m not in favor of actually banning handguns…I’m offended by politicians who throw a handgun ban out as a solution to real problems.”

Bradford, for his part, voted in support of requesting a federal ban on handguns in 2020. So what is his actual position? Is this another flip-flop on Brad’s part? Or is he simply accepting any endorsement because he’s stalling in the polls?

Bradford has repeatedly asked Torontonians to trust his judgement on public safety. But in 2025, he traveled to Huntsville to campaign for Aitchison in that year's election. How can Torontonians trust Brad to keep them safe if he is willing to align himself so closely with a politician who is offended by the very idea of a federal handgun ban?

Aitchison is just one of Bradford's questionable endorsers. Bradford said he was "happy to have the support" of Liberal MP John McKay, a leading social conservative who fought his own party's bill to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005. He welcomed an endorsement from Case Ootes, the former deputy mayor who chaired Rob Ford's 2010 transition. And he was "proud to have the support and advice" of Catherine Swift, right up until he distanced himself from her after her Islamophobic social media posts resurfaced online. These are the allies that Brad Bradford is building his campaign with.

“Endorsements go both ways; they signal shared values and priorities. If Bradford is going to accept an endorsement from someone like Aitchison, he needs to tell voters where he stands on gun safety," said Saman Tabasinejad, Executive Director of Progress Toronto. 

Torontonians deserve clarity on where Bradford stands.

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Contact
Saman Tabasinejad
Executive Director
saman@progresstoronto.ca

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