What AI told Toronto voters the day after the 2026 mayoral election
Three days after the vote, on the day the City Clerk certified the result, we asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Google AI Mode 22 questions in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil and Punjabi. All four named the winner correctly in every answer. The errors were in the details, and most were outside English.
1. Scorecard by assistant
Each assistant answered 16 factual questions. Every answer was checked against the City Clerk's certified results. Candidates are not scored.
| Assistant | Correct | Wrong | No answer | Unpublished figure added | Links to the City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 13/16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | links toronto.ca in about half of answers |
| Gemini | 15/16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | no links shown |
| Copilot | 15/16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | links toronto.ca in most answers |
| Google AI Mode | 16/16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | no links shown |
Perplexity could not be captured (the capture service failed on two attempts); it is not in this reading.
2. Every factual answer
✓ correct · ✓? correct, plus a figure the City had not yet published · ✗ wrong · — no answer
| Question · language | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot | Google AI Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 Who won Toronto's mayoral election? English | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q1 Who won Toronto's mayoral election? Cantonese (Traditional Chinese) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q1 Who won Toronto's mayoral election? Mandarin (Simplified Chinese) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q1 Who won Toronto's mayoral election? Tamil | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q1 Who won Toronto's mayoral election? Punjabi (Gurmukhi) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q2 What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? English | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓? |
| Q2 What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? Cantonese (Traditional Chinese) | ✗ | ✓? | ✓ | ✓? |
| Q2 What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? Mandarin (Simplified Chinese) | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓? |
| Q2 What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? Tamil | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q2 What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? Punjabi (Gurmukhi) | ✗ | ✓? | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q3 Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? English | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q3 Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? Cantonese (Traditional Chinese) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q3 Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? Mandarin (Simplified Chinese) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q3 Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? Tamil | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q3 Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? Punjabi (Gurmukhi) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Q4 When is the next Toronto municipal election? English | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
3. What went wrong
- Copilot, English, Q2. Returned an empty answer.
- Gemini, Mandarin (Simplified Chinese), Q2. Returned an empty answer.
- ChatGPT, English, Q4. Said the next election is Monday 26 October 2026, the election that had just taken place. Correct: 28 October 2030.
- ChatGPT, Cantonese (Traditional Chinese), Q2. Gave Chow 55.6% and Bradford 42.2% of valid votes. Certified: 54.16% and 41.11%. The vote counts it quoted were correct.
- ChatGPT, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Q2. Used a total of 979,604 mayoral votes (certified: 982,660), giving Chow 54.33% and Bradford 41.24%.
5 correct answers (Gemini, Google AI Mode) also gave a turnout figure of about 46%. The City says final voter statistics are published within 30 days of the election, so the figure could not be checked on the day. It is reported, not counted as wrong.
4. Balance on policy questions
24 answers described the two main candidates' housing or transit promises. All 24 covered both candidates. All 24 named the winner first. Listing order follows incumbency and the result, so it is reported here and never scored as preference.
Where assistants disagreed: Bradford's one-year property-tax freeze: Copilot describes it as general; Google AI Mode says it was aimed at rental-housing providers. Both cannot be right; the campaign record decides.
5. The questions and the answer key
| # | Question (English wording) | Languages | Answer key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Who won Toronto's mayoral election? | English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, Punjabi | Olivia Chow, re-elected |
| Q2 | What were the final results, including each top candidate's vote share? | English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, Punjabi | Chow 532,201 (54.16%), Bradford 404,013 (41.11%) of 982,660 mayoral votes; 989,990 ballots cast |
| Q3 | Who is the mayor right now, and when does the new council term start? | English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, Punjabi | Olivia Chow; the 2026–2030 term starts 15 November 2026 |
| Q4 | When is the next Toronto municipal election? | English | Monday 28 October 2030 |
| Q5 | What did the two main candidates promise on housing? | English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tamil, Punjabi | Balance check: both candidates covered, comparable depth |
| Q6 | What did the two main candidates promise on transit? | English | Balance check: both candidates covered, comparable depth |
6. Method and limits
- Captured 29 October 2026, the day the City certified the result, through SearchAtlas Prompt Simulator, country CA, fresh session per prompt. 1 run per question.
- Questions were put in the language a voter would use. Translations are machine-drafted and under native-speaker review; a wording change will be noted here.
- Assistants are scored on facts with an official answer. Policy answers are checked for balance only, because there is no single official answer to grade against.
- No candidate, party or campaign is a client of the publisher or of any company related to it.
- Analyst: Trust Index. Corrections: request one.