This is the ward’s third call to the polls in a year, after Crawford’s resignation from the seat to run for provincial government in July. Polling figures revealed a meagre voter turnout of just 22 percent—a lower showing than any single ward in this summer’s mayoral by-election, and a significant drop from the 38.4 percent Scarborough Southwest saw in that race. In last year’s municipal election, 32 percent of eligible voters in the ward cast a ballot.

There were some unexpected results on election night. Parent advocate Anna Sidiropolous came in a distant third, with 13 percent of the vote, though she beat current TDSB Trustee for the ward Malika Ghous by more than 700 votes; in last year’s municipal election, Ghous beat Sidiropolous to the trustee role by a little over 60 votes. Similarly, Suman Roy, declared to be in a virtual tie with Kandavel in polls leading up to the election, finished fifth, with only seven percent of the vote. Both Ghous and Roy had startling last-minute allegations made against them in the final three days of the campaign—respectively, voter fraud and philanthropic misconduct. Kandavel was part of the group raising red flags about ineligible voters ahead of election day; he had also previously filed a complaint with the integrity commissioner after former mayor John Tory made robocalls supporting incumbent Gary Crawford on the eve of the previous election.

Scarborough Southwest is one of the biggest wards in the city, and home to diverse communities and some wide economic disparities. Working-class families live in the north of the ward, and wealthy homeowners in the south along the lakefront, each community with its own priorities for the incoming local councillor. The Local has previously reported on issues of food safety, affordability, transit, and housing in the ward.