Brad Bradford is a Toronto city councillor and an urban planner by training. He grew up in suburban Hamilton, raised by his single mother alongside two siblings, and later moved to Hespeler, a community within Cambridge, Ontario, where he finished high school. An active kid, he spent much of his childhood figure skating at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena and Skating Centre, training and competing at a high level. He also played rugby, including at the University of Guelph and with club teams.

Brad describes himself as an unfocused high school student who barely made it into university before finding confidence and academic momentum once he applied himself. He studied environmental studies and completed an internship at the Canadian Urban Institute while attending York University. He later earned a scholarship to pursue graduate studies in urban planning at the University of Waterloo, where he was part of a small cohort and served as president of the Canadian Association of Planning Students. During that time, he helped organize a national student conference in Waterloo, where he met architect Craig Applegath, who became a long term mentor.

He began his professional career at DIALOG, working in a multidisciplinary environment and contributing to planning projects across Canada. His graduate research focused on how land use decisions shape community energy demand, with an emphasis on district energy. That work led him to Boston, where he spent roughly three years working in district energy policy and traveling internationally, including to Dubai.

Brad later returned to Toronto to work in municipal government in the office of chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat. That experience led him to enter elected office, and he now represents Beaches-East York on Toronto City Council. He has said he plans to run for mayor in 2026.

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