“We’ve Killed the Condo Market.”

Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford joins Josh & Ehren to break down how policy, red tape, and costs are choking housing supply — and what it’ll take to make Toronto buildable again.

Listen to the full conversation on Toronto’s housing crisis, missing middle development, and the future of affordability.

 In episode 16, urban planner–turned–City Councillor Brad Bradford shares how smarter planning, better policy, and collaboration can unlock housing affordability in Toronto.

Brad shares how his journey from the private planning world to City Hall—and a razor-thin election win by just 286 votes—shaped his belief that the only path forward is through supply-driven solutions, not political posturing or red tape. We unpack Toronto's “missing middle” opportunity, the disconnect between planners, politicians, and developers, and the urgent need to modernize the city’s housing framework. We discuss the economic, social, and policy levers needed to restore balance and affordability in one of North America’s most expensive markets.

In this episode, we explore:
✅ How Brad’s background in urban planning led him to challenge City Hall’s “culture of no”
✅ Why bureaucratic red tape, not developers, is the biggest barrier to housing supply
✅ How the “missing middle” could solve Toronto’s affordability crisis
✅ Why government fees and taxes now make up nearly 30% of a home’s cost—and how to fix it
✅ Why condo projects are slowing down and how small builders can seize the opportunity
✅ The dangerous rise of anti-development politics and how it drives prices higher
✅ Why leadership means managing change, not avoiding it
✅ How empathy, collaboration, and trial-and-error policymaking can rebuild public trust
✅ The connection between policy, capital, and supply, and why alignment is critical

Whether you’re a developer, investor, or policymaker, this episode takes a look at what it will take to make Toronto buildable again.

🎧 Listen & Subscribe:
 Find the BLD Financial Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Who is Brad Bradford?
Brad Bradford is the City Councillor for Ward 19, Beaches–East York. With experience as an urban planner, Brad has been the driving force behind important housing initiatives like accelerating and streamlining the approvals process, enabling office-to-residential conversions, building more modular housing, increasing density on major streets and avenues, eliminating the “wedding cake” angular plane from midrise buildings, and reducing the cost to build purpose-built rental homes and multiplexes.

Follow & Connect with Brad Bradford:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bradfordgrams/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-bradford/
X - https://x.com/BradMBradford
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BradMBradford/
Website - https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/councillor-ward-19/

Follow & Connect with Josh & Ehren:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bldfinancial
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BLDfinancial
YouTube -  https://www.youtube.com/@bldfinancial

DLC National License: 12360