Municipal elections shape far more than the composition of City Council. They shape the conditions in which people live, businesses invest, employees get to work, neighbourhoods grow and the downtown either gains momentum or loses it.

That is why the London Chamber of Commerce is preparing a municipal candidate questionnaire for every mayoral and ward candidate in the 2026 election. Once the certified candidate list is available, each candidate will receive the same questions, the same deadline and the same opportunity to respond. We will publish their answers verbatim so that Chamber members and Londoners can compare them directly.

The questionnaire begins with the Chamber’s vision: Economic Prosperity. Social Progress. For all. Our mission is to connect, champion and empower London’s business community to lead inclusive growth and strengthen our city’s prosperity and well-being. Integrity, inclusion, collaboration, leadership and stewardship guide our work.

Those commitments require a broad view of the city. Economic growth depends on housing, transportation, public safety, infrastructure, talent, culture, sound finances and municipal services that work. Social progress depends on how London responds to homelessness, health, reconciliation, climate change and the quality of its public spaces. The next Council will have to deal with all of these issues at once.

Our questionnaire therefore asks candidates about London’s economic future and the talent employers will need. It asks how they would implement the new Downtown Plan, respond to the health and homelessness crisis, improve public safety, expand housing and support complete communities.

Arts and culture have a prominent place. London’s cultural organisations, artists, venues, festivals and creative businesses contribute to employment, tourism, downtown activity, talent attraction and the city’s identity. Cultural infrastructure and public space also require long-term decisions. We developed these questions with input from members of the cultural community and have carried culture through the wider questionnaire rather than treating it as an isolated subject.

Transportation is considered as a complete network. Candidates will be asked about local transit, service to major employment areas and shift workers, intercity buses, air service and better passenger rail. Businesses and employees need reliable connections within London and beyond it.

The questionnaire also asks candidates how they would improve municipal approvals and service delivery, implement the City’s ReconciliAction Plan with Indigenous partners, finance the infrastructure required for growth and strengthen accountability for the many plans Council has already approved.

Climate change receives its own question. Council has adopted a Climate Emergency Action Plan with ambitious targets. Candidates should explain whether London is moving quickly enough, what they would accelerate or change and how climate action can support resilience, affordability and economic competitiveness.

We are looking for more than statements of general support. The questions ask candidates to identify priorities, assign responsibilities, confront trade-offs and explain how progress would be measured. London has no shortage of plans. The next Council will be judged by its ability to turn them into visible results.

The Chamber will approach the exercise impartially. We are not writing answers for candidates, rating their political beliefs or steering voters toward a preferred slate. We are giving candidates a common platform to explain how they would lead and giving the public a practical way to assess what they say.

We will publish the final questionnaire shortly and invite every candidate to take part. Londoners deserve a campaign that engages seriously with the city’s choices. We hope this questionnaire helps produce one.

You can view and track responses here

By Graham Henderson, President and CEO, London Chamber of Commerce