Chow says her mother is a more formidable opponent than the Fords

TORONTO – Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow admits her fiercest opponent so far in the municipal election campaign has been her mother.

“Because I always come home, I live with my mom. As I sit down to eat she goes, ‘Why didn’t you say that?’,” said Chow when asked if either Doug or Rob Ford was her most formidable opponent.

Chow, who appeared on Global’s The Morning Show as a guest producer Friday, is currently sitting a distant third in the latest poll numbers.

But she claims there’s still a lot of time left for voters to make up their minds.

“A lot of people don’t make up their minds until the last five days,” she said. “Sometimes they make up their mind on the weekend of the day of as they are walking to the polling station.”

“I want people to think about what’s best for them, for their families. What can we do with each other, for each other.”

READ MORE: John Tory maintains lead in new Toronto mayoral poll

Chow was also asked about the sexist and racist remarks directed at her on social media since the campaign started, saying she should have addressed the negative comments sooner.

“The name calling, especially on Twitter and Facebook is so rude and so hateful, it’s unbelievable,” said Chow.

“I probably should have called people out earlier. But I want to talk about real policies. Rather than drawing attention to all the sexism and racism.”

READ MORE: #ElxnSexism draws attention to sexism, racism, homophobia on the campaign trail

As a guest producer for the second hour of The Morning Show, Chow chose Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, as the interview subject.

John Tory will guest-produce his own hour of The Morning Show on Oct. 22.

Doug Ford initially accepted an offer from the show but then backed out. Producers hope he will change his mind before the Oct. 27 election.

The Toronto edition of The Morning Show airs from 6 to 9 a.m. on Global.

With a file from John R. Kennedy