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Mayor Chow says she had a 'very productive' meeting with the federal housing minister. But their planned press conference was abruptly cancelled

Chow sent a letter to councillors a day before, warning that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government had agreed to cover only 26 per cent of Toronto’s estimated costs for housing asylum seekers in the city’s shelter system this year, a move that would leave the municipality $107 million short, according to staff.

Published Aug 22, 2025 at 8:35pm

Barbara Patrocinio
By
Barbara Patrocinio
Mayor Chow says she had a 'very productive' meeting with the federal housing minister. But their planned press conference was abruptly cancelled

Mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, delivers remarks at a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, in Toronto on Thursday, May 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says she isn’t looking for a fight with the federal government, even as relations grow strained over housing policy and refugee shelter funding.

On Thursday, a joint press conference with Chow and federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson was scrapped with no reason offered.

It came only a day after Chow sent a letter to councillors warning that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government had agreed to cover only 26 per cent of Toronto’s estimated costs for housing asylum seekers in the city’s shelter system this year. It's a move that city staff said would leave the municipality $107 million short.

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