Brampton Ward 8

Biography: Nayan Brahmbhatt is a consultant and business leader. He operates a mortgage brokerage. In 2021, he was elected a member of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Brahmbhatt says he served on the Mayor’s Brampton Business Ambassadors Panel and the Brampton School Traffic Safety Council. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brahmbhatt says on his website that he helped distribute more than 500 meals to international students and other community members. He says he also helped with vaccination efforts. He previously worked as a mortgage advisor at CIBC, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Platform: Brahmbhatt’s platform focuses on building a “business-friendly” Brampton. He says he’ll bring fiscal responsibility to City Hall, create safer communities, ease traffic gridlock, and grow the local economy.

Biography: Taran Chahal is manager of corporate asset management at the City of Brampton, a chartered professional accountant, and a former candidate for the federal Conservative Party. He ran in the 2025 federal election in Brampton Centre, coming in at a close second place. He says he has volunteered with United Way and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. He was also on the board of Sheridan College.

Platform: Chahal says his priorities are safety, affordability, improved infrastructure and parks, and economic growth. He promises to “keep property taxes and fees under control” and attract more high-paying jobs to Brampton.

Biography: Ripudaman Singh Dhillon is the director of ICC Immigration, a Mississauga-based firm that facilitates immigration to Canada. He was also briefly president of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce from 2021 to 2022. In 2018, Dhillon ran for Progressive Conservative MPP in Brampton North, during which time four lawsuits against him and ICC Immigration surfaced: CBC News reported that Dhillon had allegedly defrauded tens of thousands of dollars from clients hoping to immigrate to Canada. The CBC additionally interviewed three other former clients who made similar allegations. Dhillon did not respond to the CBC’s requests for comment at the time. The lawsuits were settled by ICC Canada Immigration and Dhillon, reports the CBC, saying the defendants paid out between $2,000 and $13,000.

Dhillon ran for regional council in Wards 7 and 9 in 2022, coming second out of seven candidates.

Platform: In a series of Facebook posts, Dhillon says he wants to create more neighbourhood sports and leadership opportunities for youth, make city hall more transparent, fight for stronger community safety and more responsive, timely, reliable municipal services. On his website, Dhillon also says that he believes growth should be planned “responsibly” so that city infrastructure keeps pace with new residents.

Biography: Little information is available online about Ayanna Kahlon. According to her website, she pursued a degree in human geography and planning, and worked at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities.

Platform: Kahlon says that she wants to invest in youth recreation and mentorship programs, after-school activities, and better lighting in public spaces to improve public safety. If elected, she says she will work to coordinate between police liaison teams and residents for safety plans. Kahlon also says that she will work to enforce residential rental licensing to tackle illegal rental units and hold non-compliant landlords accountable. She also supports missing-middle housing and wants to speed up approvals for new housing projects. Kahlon also wants to push for more reliable transit, smarter intersection design, transit-oriented development near hubs, and streets that protect pedestrians and cyclists. She also wants to zone for mixed commercial and residential use, and make community engagement easier by providing plain-language council updates and regular ward town halls.

Biography: Little is known about Ali Khan. Someone claiming to be Khan on Reddit says that he is a first-time candidate with no team and no website.

Platform: Someone claiming to be Khan on Reddit says that he believes in proper transit infrastructure. He also thinks that the city council needs to be more transparent, that they should track every dollar, and that there should be an independent audit of all services.

Biography: Rakesh Sharma is the broker of record at Sutton Group – Realty Experts Inc. and was on the Board of Directors at Brampton Real Estate Board from 2019 to 2023.

Platform: On his website, Sharma says that he will advocate for more community safety initiatives and resources for first responders. He also says that he will modernize city service processes to reduce delays. Sharma also wants to improve infrastructure for “smart growth” as Brampton’s population grows. In an Instagram video, Sharma says that he wants to make it easier for landlords to get rental unit licenses approved. In another post, Sharma says that he will push for more resources for Peel Police’s extortion task force. Sharma also calls out the province’s expansion of the Emerald Waste Incinerator, and says that he will support residents in getting their voices heard in discussions about such future expansions.

Biography: Monica Singh Soares is a councillor in the Township of Southgate, northwest of Brampton. During her tenure there, Singh Soares raised concerns about children facing long, potentially dangerous walks to school near a highway; she also voted for a new sidewalk, crosswalk and crossing guard near another school, and worked to expand National Disability Employment Awareness Month. She’s the founder of Rise Up and Soar Community, a charity in Dundalk, Ont. focused on youth leadership. She previously worked at the Region of Peel as a client relations specialist.

Platform: Singh Soares lists her priorities as safer streets, cleaner communities, better services, affordability, and economic opportunity. She wants to push for transparency and accountability around projects like the Emerald waste-to-energy incinerator, and cut red tape for small businesses.

Biography: Rod Power served as city councillor for Wards 7 and 8 since 2022, and is now running for regional councillor. According to his LinkedIn profile, before entering local politics, Power had a career in workforce development and consulting. He was a member of the Chinguacousy Soccer Club in youth, and was a competitive boxer at Bramalea Boxing Club. He’s currently the President of Boxing Ontario, and continues to advocate for local sports programs in the city.

During his last term, Power co-launched accessibility initiatives like PowerSpeak, a communication app for non-verbal individuals, and supported iCAN games for neurodivergent students across 20 schools in the region. Power championed the addition of a new Brampton library branch to the Howden Recreation Centre revitalization project that created a multi-use community hub for the area.

Platform: Power says he’s committed to supporting crime prevention initiatives, investing in better infrastructure, expanding youth opportunities, and continuing to champion for more accessible spaces and programs.

Biography: Little information is available online about Anil Sahajpal. According to his website, he has over 25 years of experience in finance and administration.

Platform: Sahajpal’s platform includes , accelerating road repairs and “smart traffic optimization,” increasing park maintenance funding, ensuring infrastructure capacity as a prerequisite for new development, and guaranteeing transparency and accountability.  He wants to address violence through both supporting increased police presence and neighborhood watch programs, as well as youth outreach and prevention programming.

Biography: Little information is available online about Aman Sharma. On his campaign website, Sharma describes himself as an entrepreneur with over a decade of business experience.

Platform: Sharma states that his mission is focused on community safety, tackling affordability through “smart fiscal management,” supporting youth through leadership opportunities, and “fostering inclusion.”

Biography: Little information could be found online about Christopher Soranno. On Instagram, Soranno shares that they are nonbinary, and disabled, and have survived a brain injury. They also say they were raised within the children’s aid system in Peel. Soranno’s LinkedIn profile states that they are currently an executive assistant at Communote. Between 2005-2015, they say they volunteered for the Mayors’ Youth teams and served as the vice chair of Mississauga’s Youth Committee.

Platform: According to their VoteGrid profile, Soranno’s priorities include “reducing unnecessary council spending,” supporting low-income families and seniors, improving public transit, and supporting more transitional and affordable housing. They want to invest in food banks, community services and programs, and recreational spaces.

Biography: Little information could be found online about Cynthia Sri Pragash. On Instagram, Pragash’s candidacy is advertised through the Brampton Matters account, an non-profit organization she is affiliated with.

Platform: Pragash’s priorities include supporting a sustainable transportation service, more community spaces and programs for youth, and reducing crime by increasing police presence and installing more security cameras.

Biography: Little information is available online about Vedaant Vyas. On his website, he says that he has worked in factories, pharmacies, banks, and fast food restaurants.

Platform: Vyas mentions supporting small businesses, a responsive city council, transit and traffic safety, more parks and public spaces, and stricter laws for tenants and landlords in his platform. He wants to foster greater voter turnout.