Biography: Joe Cadeau says he is a former vice president of Konica Minolta, a printing and technology company, with extensive volunteer experience in Toronto Centre, including at the food bank at St. Bartholomew’s Church, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, and the Bond Street shelter. He sits on the board of directors of the MET condo building.

Platform: Cadeau describes his platform priorities as accountability, community engagement, affordability, and safer streets. He is critical of Toronto’s government for the housing projects at 502-508 Parliament St., a supportive housing build that ran nearly 100 percent over budget, and 233 Carlton St., a women’s drop-in centre that ran 265 per cent over budget. Cadeau says he would hold contractors accountable as councillor. He promises to strengthen relationships with local business improvement associations and residents groups, freeze salaries for city staff, and explore “community security alternatives” to increased policing.

Biography: There is little information available about Tom Cai’s professional background. He describes himself as having worked part-time in physics research. At a community meeting about Sneaky Dee’s, the College Street music venue that was saved from demolition in the spring, Cai identified himself as a student at the University of Toronto, and advocated for the preservation of Sneaky Dees, arguing against “the destruction of the heart and soul of Toronto.”

Platform: Cai argues that TTC fares should be dynamic, based on distance travelled. Cai wants to increase Toronto’s Vacant Homes Tax to 10 per cent of a building’s value and increase enforcement of the tax. He says he will support homeless shelters and homeless support networks instead of paying for private security forces to evict encampments from parks.

Cai is in favour of bike lanes and rejects car-friendly policies for Toronto. In a YouTube video, Cai cautions against excessive highrise development in Toronto.

Biography: Victoria Davis is a community worker who previously led a drop-in program at Church of the Holy Trinity, adjacent to the Eaton Centre, for homeless people and those living in poverty. She has also worked as the coordinator of a food bank in Scarborough and as an English as a second language instructor, according to her LinkedIn.

She says on her website that she is a student in Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Platform: Davis lists her priorities as housing as a human right, more public washrooms, connecting with nature, community building, disability awareness, safety, peace, and Indigenous leadership. She has said Toronto needs more indoor cooling centres during heatwaves.

Biography: Morgan Harris says he has work experience in software and financial systems on his LinkedIn profile. He has served on the board of directors for Habitat Services, a non-profit supportive housing agency, and for the Daily Bread Food Bank, as well as being executive director for the Allan Gardens Food Bank. He also told The Local in an email that he was director at the Winchester Park Residents Association.

Platform: Harris says he is opposed to mandatory treatment for people with drug addictions. He supports building rental housing for students, which he proposes could serve as holiday housing for tourists in summer months. In an email to The Local, Harris said he wanted to work on improving affordable and supportive housing, work to end homelessness, invest in transit and reduce fares, and expand bicycle infrastructure. He proposes a “congestion charge scheme” and supports other ways to increase City revenue.

[Updated Oct. 5, 2026]

Biography: Walied Khogali Ali is a housing advocate in Regent Park and a founding member of TTCriders and the Coalition Against White Supremacy and Islamophobia. He’s co-chair of the board of the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association and co-chair of a group that oversees Regent Park’s Community Benefit Agreement with Tridel, which is meant to provide $26.8 million for the neighbourhood, including for scholarships, local jobs, and new community spaces.

Khogali championed an amendment to Toronto’s official plan in 2021 which changed the definition of affordable housing to one based on a tenant’s income instead of on market rates. Khogali says on his website that this change doubled the number of rent-geared-to-income homes to more than 1200. When developers challenged the rule, Khogali argued the move would displace lower-income tenants from Regent Park.

Khogali has opposed Premier Doug Ford’s housing policies, fighting for more community input and what he calls equitable urban development. Khogali also challenged Ford publicly when the premier said he supported bringing back a disbanded police unit that used carding, calling the unit “racist.”

He has written policy frameworks for preventing displacement and advancing affordable housing on behalf of the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association and the Regent Park Tenants Rights Association. He led the Toronto Environmental Alliance as president and held roles with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council and United Way through the Labour Community Services of Metropolitan Toronto. One source reports he was terminated from that position with just cause. Khogali says on his website that he also held roles in the Canadian Arab Federation. He has served on the city’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee from 2023 to 2026.

Ali has run in Toronto Centre before, in 2018, when he placed fifth out of 19 candidates.

Platform: As a councillor, Khogali says he will champion non-profit, co-op, and rent-geared-to-income housing, speed up repairs without displacing tenants, and use publicly owned land “for public benefit, not private speculation.” He wants to expand the Social Development Plan model—used in Regent Park to manage its transition from a neighbourhood with all social housing to a mixed-income community—across the city. He wants to provide resources to “grassroots leadership in youth, tenant, food, and mental health work.” To provide more community spaces, he says he’ll retrofit unused city buildings into spaces for seniors, newcomers and young people, and prevent redevelopment of existing spaces. He also wants the city to hire local workers when tax dollars are spent in the ward, launch a works program for youth, and strengthen existing community benefit agreements. On climate, he supports a maximum temperature bylaw, which is already in the works, and expanding tree canopy in high-density neighbourhoods.

Biography: Norman MacLeod says he has a background in financial management. He ran for mayor in 2023, placing 59th out of 102 candidates.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Cleveland Marshall says on his website that he previously worked as a management consultant at Touche Ross & Co. Marshall ran for mayor in 2023, placing 33rd out of 102 candidates, and previously ran for Ward 13 councillor in 2022. He also ran as an independent in Toronto Centre in the 2025 federal election.

Platform: On a website that appears to be built for his 2025 campaign, Marshall said he would fight for the middle class. He mentions issues like high food prices, unaffordable mortgages, and high rent.

Biography: Chris Moise is the current councillor for Toronto Centre. He was elected in 2022.

Moise says his achievements in housing include the city-led proposal for co-op housing at 405 Sherbourne Street, and promoting community consultations for the proposed mixed-use development at 500 Dundas St. East, which will reportedly include both affordable rental units and market-rate condominiums. He cites collaborations on a renovictions bylaw and the Vacant Home Tax, transit fare freezes and fare integration.

While Moise describes himself as progressive, he has expressed different views and cast different votes than some other progressive councillors. He endorsed Ana Bailão for mayor in 2023. He has said he’s opposed to encampments for the unhoused, although rather than sending in the police, the City responded to an encampment in his ward by setting up a trailer where encampment residents could talk to housing workers.

Moise unsuccessfully advocated for the City to take over Moss Park Arena. He controversially proposed closing Barbara Hall Park at night to, he says, curb violence, vandalism and drug use, which many supporters of the park and its AIDS memorial disagreed with.

Kristyn Wong-Tam, a former councillor of Toronto Centre and now an NDP MPP, endorsed Moise during the last election cycle, but is supporting another candidate this time around, saying Moise “has disappointed some folks in my community.”

Moise was found to have violated councillors’ code of conduct after a conflict with right-wing IntegrityTO founder Daniel Tate (also running for council in the ward), over the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square. Moise described Tate as having “a white supremacy view”; Moise was not fined, and the City ended up covering half of his $20,000-plus legal bill.

CBC reported in 2024 that Moise had received at least $10,800, or 11 percent of his campaign contributions, from donors tied to developer Fitzrovia Real Estate.

Before getting into politics, Moise was a police officer, addictions counsellor, and school-board trustee. He also owns a pet store in St. Lawrence Market.

Platform: Moise says he is running to build on the existing results won alongside Mayor Olivia Chow, including the pedestrianization of Church and Market Streets, RentSafeTO ratings for apartment buildings, and the movement of people out of the Moss Park encampment into supportive housing. He championed the Dogs Off-Leash Strategy and the expansion of the Allan Gardens Greenhouse to turn it into one of the largest conservatories in North America.

Biography: Curran Stikuts says he’s worked in the ward since 2008, first at a housing co-op and then at The 519, a city agency serving 2SLGBTQIA+ people, where he worked as director of advocacy and strategic communications. Stikuts also previously worked for the city as a community development officer, according to his LinkedIn.

Stikuts also says he’s been on the board of several non-profits and sat on the implementation panel for Toronto’s “Our Health, Our City” plan, which aims to reduce overdose deaths, promote health, improve access to housing and promote mentally healthy workplaces. At a Toronto Board of Health meeting in 2023, Stikuts said he “struggled intensely with problematic drug use” in his teens and early twenties, and was familiar with the overdose crisis because many of the queer and trans people served by The 519 use drugs. At the meeting, he urged the City to raise wages for harm reduction workers and talked about the need for “stabilization” spaces for people who use drugs.

He has been endorsed by former councillor NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam and the Toronto & York Region Labour Council. According to the Labour Council, Stikuts has “raised millions of dollars for 2SLGBTQIA+ and Toronto Centre community initiatives.”

Platform: The pillars of Stikuts’ campaign are affordability, public space, connection with constituents, and safety. To make the ward more affordable, Stikuts says the city needs to build more housing; speed up construction; and protect renters, seniors and low-income people from displacement. He says the ward’s sidewalks, parks and main streets need to be better maintained, and that residents should always get a response from their city councillor. On public safety, Stikuts says the city needs to balance responding to disturbances while also tackling root causes like mental illness, lack of housing, and inadequate supports.

Biography: Daniel Tate is the founder and director of IntegrityTO, an “anti-woke” group that has petitioned against new homeless shelters and renaming initiatives, including at schools and at Sankofa Square. Online, IntegrityTO shares videos of people who are visibly homeless, in crisis, or intoxicated in order to promote policies like mandatory drug treatment. The group has been criticized for posting AI-generated videos and using homeless people as props to provoke anger among viewers. Tate is opposed to diversity initiatives, which he says “splinter society into a million different identity groups.”

Incumbent councillor Chris Moise has said that Tate holds “a white supremacy” view because he attacks racialized city officials, including Moise, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik, and Mayor Olivia Chow. However, Moise was found to have violated Toronto city councillors’ code of conduct for making the accusation at a city hall meeting in 2025.

Before launching IntegrityTO, Tate worked in sales and the entertainment industry, according to his LinkedIn.

Platform: Tate says he wants to manage the city “like a business, where you deliver value for your stakeholders and your shareholders.” His campaign pillars are responsible spending, law and order, and supporting businesses through lower taxes. He says he will rigorously audit city departments’ spending, base procurement processes on merit and “foster a culture of excellence.” He opposes harm reduction policies and wants to see “a zero-tolerance approach to criminal behaviour in public spaces,” as well as “meaningful consequences for vandalism, public defecation, public urination, and other offences that degrade our shared spaces and demoralize our citizens.” Tate says that people with addictions need to be in rehabs and detox facilities, “criminal offenders should be housed within the criminal justice system” and people who have fallen on hard times should have homeless shelters available.

Biography: Nicki Ward is a human rights and LGBTQ2S+ advocate and a former president of one of Canada’s largest housing co-ops, located in Toronto Centre. Ward is a former member of the board of The 519, a city agency that serves LGBTQ2S+ people. She says she’s a former executive in the insurance industry. Ward has said that her personal experience coming out as trans and losing her job and access to her kids is what inspired her advocacy. She has run for council before, in both University-Rosedale and Toronto Centre. In 2022, she came second place in the latter ward to Chris Moise. Ward also ran as a Green Party candidate in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

Platform: Ward says that if elected, her focus will be on being accountable by holding city departments to objective benchmarks for success or failure. She is a proponent of abstinence-based rehabilitation for people who use drugs, instead of harm reduction. She says she will build more housing co-ops by lobbying the federal government to put 5 per cent of its National Housing Strategy budget towards co-ops in Toronto. She says drug use and anti-social behaviour on the TTC are at “a tipping point” and the city should track all incidents and audit its responses. Ward says Ward 13 has been shortchanged by the city because its population has become more dense, wearing out infrastructure.

Biography: Axel Arvizu is an entrepreneur who co-founded La Tortelleria, a Mexican restaurant in Kensington Market. As of 2022, he was managing a home building company. He previously ran for city council in the 2022 municipal election in Ward 11 – University-Rosedale, losing to Dianne Saxe.

Platform: Arvizu’s platform mentions advocating for anti-bullying measures, mental health supports, and literacy and numeracy skills for students. He wants to foster accessible and inclusive extracurriculars, and provide resources to children with special education needs. He also mentions financial transparency and communication with parents.

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: According to a post on his Facebook page, Cherrington says his priorities include “smaller class sizes”, “listening to families”, and “preparing students for tomorrow.”

Biography: According to his LinkedIn, Adam Golding currently works as an AI trainer and dog walker. Golding ran in the 2025 University-Rosedale federal by-election as an independent.

Platform: Golding does not have a platform available at the time of publication. His website links to a Substack article that he refers to as his “platform”, but it does not mention anything about the TDSB or his policy priorities.

Biography: Tasha Kheiriddin is a conservative political columnist who writes for the National Post. She has also taught at McGill and Carleton universities, and was previously a principal at the public relations firm Navigator. As co-chair of the school advisory council at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, she has written in support of provincial supervision for the TDSB. She has been endorsed by former MPP George Smitherman, former mayor John Tory, and former senator Linda Frum.

Platform: Kheiriddin’s platform includes advocating for “real consequences” for misconduct, increased parental involvement, and emphasizes responsible spending – with promises to “independently examine” procurement contracts, and “insist on transparent, competitive purchasing.”

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Shaffni Nalir is the general manager of the Toronto Islamic Centre, and has provided spiritual care as a volunteer for a number of organizations including CAMH, SickKids, and Mount Sinai Hospital. He has a master’s degree in psychotherapy and spirituality from the University of Toronto, and in 2025 was awarded a King Charles III Coronation Medal for community service.

Platform: Nalir’s platform mentions advocating for mental health supports, promoting physical activity, and building “partnerships between families, educators, and neighbourhoods”.

Biography: Little information is available online about Theo Nazary. According to a page on Toronto Metropolitan University’s website, he is the associate director of the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, and is completing his PhD at TMU.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: Deborah Willliams was first elected as a TDSB trustee in 2022. According to her website, she spent the decade before that volunteering on local school councils and the TDSB’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC). As a trustee, she has held leadership positions on a number of committees including the Program and School Services Committee, the Urban Indigenous Community Advisory Committee, the French Student Achievement Community Advisory Committee, and the Early Years Community Advisory  Committee. Williams has also been endorsed by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, Progress Toronto, and by Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Platform: William’s platform focuses on student achievement, including through “targeted strategies to close achievement gaps”, creating a safe learning environment, and a commitment to “strengthening oversight and ethical governance” in the board. She wants to improve infrastructure at the board’s schools, and foster an “inclusive, culturally responsive” curriculum.

Biography: Little information is available online about Rosina Bonavota. In 2022, she ran for trustee in Ward 9 and came in second out of seven candidates. She previously ran for city councillor in 2014 and 2006, and trustee in 2010.

Platform: Bonavota has not posted her platform online, but on the Toronto Public Library’s Know Your Vote website, she says that her priority if elected would be to improve achievement and ensure students have the necessary supports. She says that she would use achievement and equity data to find gaps. She also says that she would ensure that specialised programs are fairly distributed and accessible.

Biography: Little information is available online about Renato Fallico. He is a Technology Support Technician at Tommy Douglas Secondary School in Woodbridge, On. Fallico ran for TCDSB trustee in Ward 9 in 2022, coming sixth out of seven candidates.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication.

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing.

Platform: Le has not posted a platform online. However, on the Toronto Public Library’s Know Your Vote website, he says his main priorities are caps on classroom sizes and ensuring proper student-to-educator ratio. He also says he will expand efforts to end bullying and harassment by reviewing current policy, push back on the province’s cuts, and allocate funding to special education classrooms.

Biography: Little information is available online about Jonathan Santos. He is a realtor.

Platform: Santos’ platform focuses on protecting Catholic values and traditions, making long-term decisions tailored to each school’s needs, and ensuring that parents have a voice.

Biography: Jean-François L’Heureux is the director of Collège Boréal’s Toronto campus. Prior to this role, L’Heureux worked as the investigations and early resolutions manager at the French-language unit of Ombudsman Ontario.

L’Heureux was previously a Conseil scolaire Viamonde trustee from 2010 to 2018: he was elected in Ward 3 in 2010, acclaimed in Ward 4 in 2014, and served as chair of the school board from 2014-2018. In 2018, L’Heureux ran for trustee for Viamonde’s Ward 4, and lost to Geneviève Oger, who has since been the incumbent trustee.

L’Heureux was also president of the École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau parent council, where he initiated raising funds for the council, with proceeds going towards paying for the cost of a new playground on the school site.

Platform: L’Heureux’s campaign website says he wants to have schools of “the 21st century” that are inclusive, safe and accessible, diverse, eco-friendly, and close to where families live. He also wants to promote the French language and culture within schools, and envisions a school board that is efficient with its spending, transparent, and communicative.

Biography: Anna-Karyna Ruszkowski is the incumbent trustee for Conseil scolaire Viamonde Ward 3. She was elected for the role during the Viamonde Ward 3 by-election in 2023. Her LinkedIn page says that she’s also a chief risk officer at BMO Insurance.

In 2018, Ruszkowski ran for Conseil scolaire Viamonde trustee within Durham but came in second place out of two candidates.

Platform: If re-elected, Ruszkowski says she will continue working on creating a board-wide extracurricular program that’s designed to retain students and preserve their French education. She also lists her desire to build another French school within the ward. When it comes to Collège français and École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, two schools in Ward 3, Ruszkowski says she will work on finishing gym renovations and addressing the sanitation issue on outdoor school grounds, respectively. She will also review cell phone use in schools by speaking with school communities.

Biography: Josiane Aboungono is a tenant council member of Toronto Community Housing, representing Champlain Place. Aboungono also says she’s worked as an executive assistant to the parliamentary assistant within the province’s francophone affairs department. Her campaign website also says that she volunteered at Matthew House Toronto, an organization that provides shelter and support to refugee claimants.

Platform: On her website, Aboungono says she wants to strengthen Catholic identity in schools as one of her priorities, alongside hiring French-speaking staff. Aboungono also wants to showcase francophone culture through supporting “cultural, artistic and sports activities in French.” She pledges to be transparent with decision-making, while also listening to the input of staff, parishes, and parents.

Biography: Yelena Nichilo says she’s worked in the financial services sector for over 20 years and has two children attending École élémentaire catholique du Sacré-Cœur. Nichilo is the president of the parent council at her children’s school, where she has advocated for things including transparency from the school board regarding changed design plans for the school’s soccer pitch. In her role at parent council, Nichilo also says she led a parent engagement survey which led to more community events, free snacks for students, more French-language extracurricular programs, and parent communication groups for each classroom.

Platform: If elected, Nichilo says she will prioritize transparency, communication, and consultation with parents. She mentions responsible management of public funds, and meaningful accountability at every level of the school board.

Biography: Angela Ogang is a lawyer who practices in both English and French. She runs her own law firm and her website says she teaches at Université de l’Ontario français. Ogang sits on the steering committee of the National Association of Women and the Law, was the 2025-2026 chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Forum. She served as the director of communications for the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. Ogang also says she provides legal services for Pro Bono Ontario, Ontario Action Against Violence Against Women, Southwestern Ontario Women’s Network, and the Law Society of Ontario’s mentoring network.

Platform: Ogang says she is running because she wants children to be able to “fully exercise their language rights.” She supports French education as a means to protect the language, but also to promote and transmit francophone culture, and help students develop a francophone identity and a sense of belonging in the community. Ogang promises to put students at the heart of her decisions and create opportunities to genuinely consult parents. She places an emphasis on meeting the needs of diverse francophone families, including if they are new to Canada or have one non-francophone parent.