Ward 10 — Spadina-Fort York

Biography: According to his LinkedIn, Ian Cunningham is a corporate executive who sits on the board of directors at Mississauga-based tech company Baanto. Previously, he was on the board of directors at Meridian Credit Union, and worked as the chief operating officer of Tangerine Bank from 2014 to 2017.

Platform: In an Instagram video post, Cunningham says his first act as councillor would be to pave the path in Stanley Park South and add trees. He also says he supports safe consumption sites and safe supply programs for people who use drugs, but would combine those policies with “aggressive enforcement […] against open drug dealing and public intoxication that endangers others.” He wants to increase investments in after-school and recreation programs for students, as well as English classes and job training for newcomers.

He also says he would use data to drive decision-making at city hall, and bring “stronger oversight” by refusing to “defer to bureaucracy.”

Biography: Xue Ding, who sometimes goes by Alice Ding, is a businessperson. She says on LinkedIn that she is the CEO and founder of digital marketing and property management companies.

Platform: Ding’s platform focuses on lowering taxes and enforcing drug laws. “Xue believes tax revenue should increase from economic growth and job creation, not from current revenue,” her website states.

Ding also promises to remove encampments of homeless people from public spaces within 24 hours and increase police presence.

Her platform also mentions attracting business to the ward, and leveraging technology.

Biography: Andi Hoàng-Lefranc is a licensed lawyer and has worked for the Canada Revenue Agency, according to their LinkedIn.

Platform: Hoàng-Lefranc wants to make the TTC free for all riders, starting with youth. They say they will use signal prioritization to make the TTC more reliable and faster, which the city has already implemented on the Eglinton and Finch LRTs.

On housing, Hoàng-Lefranc says they will redevelop existing spaces, like legion halls, into mixed-use buildings that include residential units, and will focus on renovating and upgrading existing housing.

They say they will introduce city-run grocery stores, which Mayor Chow is already working on.

Hoàng-Lefranc says they will reclaim control and management of the city’s sidewalk bins; increase trash collection, provide free pet waste bags, and increase the maintenance of public garbage bins if elected.

This candidate has endorsed No Jets T.O., a moratorium on AI data centres, and pledges on publicly owned transit and community-led planning.

Biography: Bashar Kassir says he is a Syrian Canadian who immigrated to Canada in 2002. An electrical engineer by training, Kassir says he now runs a small business in the liquor industry. Kassir sat on the Council of the College of Optometrists of Ontario, which is the board of directors of the optometrists’ regulator, as a part-time member.

Platform: Kassir says he will decrease noise, clean up public spaces, and move to proactive bylaw enforcement rather than reactive enforcement that happens in response to complaints. Noise seems particularly important to him, as he regularly complains on X about nighttime snow removal and garbage collection outside his home.

Kassir has said he opposes the expansion of Billy Bishop airport and is supportive of affordable housing.

Biography: Ausma Malik is the current councillor for Ward 10, the deputy mayor, and a progressive ally of Mayor Olivia Chow’s.

She says that she worked to get public access to the new Toronto Tempo facility at 701 Fleet Street, and added on a public park, public washrooms, basketball courts, and gyms in exchange for a $1 lease on city-owned land. In July, she moved a motion to make ferry rides to the Toronto island free for kids and seniors for all of August. Malik has championed a new public park and pool on the Rees Street parking lot. She has pushed Premier Doug Ford to return island lands expropriated for the now-cancelled expansion of Billy Bishop airport. Malik has also said she wants to turn Lamport Stadium into a hub for women’s sports.

During her time in office, Malik has focused efforts on revitalizing Liberty Village. A new school, library, and community centre are planned for the neighbourhood, but could take up to 10 years to all be built. She has also been involved in planning a new library at Quayside.

Malik says that she has helped approve 285,000 new housing units, including 65,000 that will be rent-controlled and 41,000 that will be affordable. She lists a co-op in Alexandra Park and new affordable rental homes in Chinatown as wins. Malik also lists the renovictions bylaw, eviction prevention program and increased funding for the rent bank as policies she championed.

Malik is reportedly the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman elected to public office in Canada. She previously served as a TDSB trustee from 2014 to 2018, when she helped establish a new downtown public school. Malik was formerly a director of the Atkinson Foundation, a social-justice organization that says it focuses on racialized workers with the lowest incomes.

Platform: Malik has not released a detailed policy platform at the time of publication.

Biography: Paul Nash says on his website that he has experience as a Bay Street financial analyst and financial journalist. His articles appeared on Advisor.ca in 2012, when he wrote about so-called “vice funds,” investment funds that put money into tobacco, alcohol and weapons, and emerging markets. Nash also says he was a volunteer director of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Search and Rescue Unit in Toronto Harbour.

He told the Toronto Sun in May that non-incumbent candidates face a disadvantage because, as part of their work, councillors like Ausma Malik can put up signs with their names before the formal campaign begins.

Platform: Nash heavily implies that he is opposed to abortion and would push for “legal protection…from conception.”

Nash says on his website that Toronto has an “outrageous” problem with crime and public safety, and that he would pursue evidence-based policies to address crime as a city councillor. He wants to “integrate supervised consumption sites into those communities where they are needed.”

He says he’ll support climate action, tree planting, and will take a “cautious” approach to AI data centres. On traffic and road safety, Nash says he will reduce speed limits on “high-risk residential streets.” Nash also says he would protect Toronto’s waterfront from an expansion of Billy Bishop airport.

Biography: Husain Neemuchwala is the founder and CEO of multiple companies that recruited international students, particularly from India, to come to Canada. His LinkedIn lists his companies as Canada Campus, an online platform that lets colleges and universities advertise to prospective international students, Canada Campus Visits, a tour agency for prospective students, and Canada India Education Council.

Neemuchwala ran for the provincial Progressive Conservative party in Spadina-Fort York in 2022, placing third.

Platform: Neemuchwala calls his platform “T.H.I.S.,” which stands for transit, housing, infrastructure, safety. He promises to improve the TTC’s reliability, create “smarter traffic flow” on major streets like Spadina, King, and Queen, and install brighter lighting at transit stops. He also says he’ll support “real affordability” in housing, bring in stronger protections for renters, and repair potholes and crumbling sidewalks more quickly.

Biography: Aanchal Vashistha is the founder of a non-profit called Reach Out Together, which provides outreach to unhoused people, support groups for immigrants and survivors of war, mental health crisis response training, and other programs. She is also an inspirational speaker and the author of independently published self-help books, such as Ongoing Success and Wellbeing: A Daily Guide to Cultivate Fulfillment in the Pursuit of Achievement.

On her website, she says that she was unhoused and lost two brothers to suicide and malaria.

Platform: Vashistha has a detailed platform on reducing barriers to resources, infrastructure, and public spending, among other areas. She says she will attend free community events once a month to meet constituents; create a searchable website that shows residents to search for every rebate, permit, and program they qualify for; implement more of the Auditor General’s recommendations on spending; cut permit processing times for small businesses; and create a public-private program for affordable mental health counselling.

She has said she’s in favour of deferring the construction of data centres but believes, in principle, that Canada should host data centres in order to have more control over the information they store.

Vashistha also says she’ll build more public spaces like tennis courts and heated spaces for winter recreation.