Patrick Brown has been re-elected for a third term as Brampton’s mayor, with 54.90 percent of the vote.

Brown won with a comfortable 35 percent lead over runner-up Wesley Jackson, a lawyer and second-time challenger for the role. Among the nine other candidates running for Brampton’s top seat, five received less than one percent of the vote. Voter turnout in Brampton was at 28.77 percent turnout at the time of reporting, marginally higher than in 2022. All results are unofficial until certified by the city clerk.

The victory gives Brown another four years leading one of Ontario’s largest and fastest growing cities, and extending a political career that has repeatedly survived controversy, setbacks, and failed bids for higher office.

Brown has had a 26-year political career, previously serving on Barrie city council, as a federal MP, and then as leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives. After stepping down from that role in 2018 amid sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied and which were never proven in court, he was elected Brampton’s mayor that October, narrowly defeating then-incumbent Linda Jeffrey.

In the lead-up to his re-election in 2022, Brown announced he was running for Federal Conservative leadership—but due to allegations of breaching campaign finance rules, which he denied, he was disqualified from the race. He then ran a successful campaign for a second term as mayor, declaring that serving the city will always remain his top priority.

This election season, Brown campaigned on the promise to “Keep Building Brampton’s Future,” with a focus on continued investments in infrastructure, health care, transit, and public safety. He touted a record of $9.4 billion invested in projects during his tenure, including Brampton’s second hospital, the Hazel McCallion LRT extension, a year-round cricket pitch, and new police facilities. Much of his pitch for his third term rests on completing these projects.

“From new recreation, to new healthcare amenities, to new transportation, this is a moment in time where Brampton is united,” Brown said in his victory speech at Speranza Banquet Hall. “We have a united team fighting to build this city the way we deserve.”

But Brown has faced scrutiny over municipal spending, cancelled integrity investigations, and projects that have stalled or failed to materialize. During his tenure, Brown voted to terminate investigations into city spending on consultants he had personal ties to. He’s also faced criticism over the delayed progress of Peel Memorial, Brampton’s long-awaited second hospital

Those questions did not prevent voters from giving Brown a third term in office.

Two New Faces at City Hall

Among the most significant wins of the night, Wards 9 and 10 (elected officials in Brampton represent two wards at a time) candidate Sukhman Sangha, a 28-year-old lawyer and former policy advisor for the government of Ontario, beat former two-term councillor Gurpeet Singh Dhillon for regional councillor by less than 300 votes. Dhillon was in office from 2014 to 2022. The race was coloured by lingering controversy related to allegations of sexual violence raised against Dhillon during his second term as councillor. While he denies the allegations and they were never brought to court, Dhillon and Mayor Patrick Brown have been involved in a protracted battle over their veracity.

In Wards 7 and 8, the only other pair of wards with no incumbent councillor vying for re-election, Taran Chahal has won the race for city councillor. Chahal was added to the certified candidates race after the August 21 nomination deadline, following an Ontario Superior court order. He ran a campaign on safety, affordability, improving infrastructure and economic growth, and promising to “keep property taxes and fees under control.” This victory follows outgoing city councillor Rod Power’s successful move to run for the ward’s empty regional councillor seat. Chahal previously ran as a Conservative candidate for federal election in Brampton Centre, but lost to the Liberal candidate.

Incumbent councillors in Brampton comfortably won the night across every other ward in the city.

 The Race Among School Trustees

The race for school trustee has been overshadowed by the provincial government’s takeover of the Peel District School Board (PDSB) and Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. The province announced just days before the end of the campaign period that elected school board trustees would not be sworn in until the province permitted as such, or until supervision ends.

Despite the provincial supervision, dozens of candidates ran for trustee. At the Peel District School Board (PDSB), Kathy McDonald has won the tense race for Wards 1 and 5. She beat incumbent trustee David Green by 5.61 percentage points. McDonald left her three-term tenure as Wards 3 and 4 trustee specifically to beat Green for his seat, describing him as “one of the biggest hurdles to progress in our board.”

In Wards 2 and 6, Chris Campbell, a recently retired carpenter, beat two-term incumbent Will Davies for trustee. Campbell campaigned on a history of 30 years of union leadership.

There are some other new faces at the PDSB, with no incumbents running in Wards 3 and 4, and 9 and 10. In Wards 3 and 4, Jot Dhaliwal won with 37.50 percent of the vote. He is co-founder of Guru Nanak Mission of Canada, a non-profit organization focused on charitable initiatives and community service. The race in Wards 9 and 10 goes to Khushpal Singh Pawar, a former student trustee for PDSB. He previously ran for trustee in 2018 and came in fifth place. Both Pawar and Dhaliwal campaigned on similar themes of supporting a safer environment for students, advocating for better classroom sizes and resource allocation, and increasing parent engagement–prominent issues during this election.

At the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB), incumbents Anisha Thomas and Daryl Brian D’Souza were re-elected as trustees, the former for Wards 1, 3, and 4, and the latter for Wards 2, 5 and 6.

Andrea Baranowski, a manager at the Canadian Polish Business Association, beat incumbent Shawn Xaviour who has been trustee for Wards 7, 8, 9 and 10 since 2014. Baranowski campaigned on fostering collaboration between schools, parishes, families, and local organizations, with a focus on fiscal responsibility and transparency.