Biography: Rachel Chernos Lin is the current councillor for Ward 15—Don Valley West. She won in a by-election after the death of city councillor Jaye Robinson in 2024. She currently sits on the Infrastructure & Environment Committee and Board of Health, and is chair of the City-School Boards Advisory Committee. In key votes on council, Chernos Lin has almost always voted with the mayor.

Chernos Lin was a significant player in the contentious debate about the “bubble zone” bylaw, which restricts specific acts of protest around areas of worship and child care. She put forward successful motions that substantially changed the staff-prepared bylaw to require less scrutiny toward the locations applying to be protected from protest under a bubble zone, and extend the time frame for which the bubble zone would be applied.

She has also put forward motions to investigate what City regulations and processes apply to AI datacentres, to strengthen protections for trees, and to develop a plan to revitalize the Peace Garden. She has expressed support for Toronto school board trustees stripped of their powers. On her website, she mentions having supported the growth of the police force, expanded street safety measures, and advocating for tenants’ rights.

Prior to being on council, Chernos Lin was a Toronto District School Board trustee, elected 2018. In that role, she advocated for mandatory vaccination in the wake of COVID-19, and for restrictions on cell phones and social media.

Platform: Chernos Lin says she will prioritize pedestrian safety, “perhaps the most common issue raised by Ward 15 residents”, and support public transit and cycling infrastructure. She is in favour of more affordable housing near transit, and new developments with “unit sizes that make sense”. She also mentions protecting the tree canopy, promoting renewable energy, and studying the potential impacts of AI datacentres.

Biography: Sheena Sharp is a climate-focused architect who worked on Toronto’s first net-zero building, the Mount Dennis child care centre. Sharp leads Coolearth Architecture, a firm that specializes in environmentally friendly designs, and has served in multiple leadership roles at the Ontario Association of Architects. She is also on the board of directors of Toronto 2030 District, a public-private project that brings together building owners, managers, and tenants to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions.

Sharp previously ran for the Don Valley West council seat in 2024 and 2022, most recently coming fourth out of 16 candidates. She also ran as the Green Party candidate in the ward’s 2022 and 2025 provincial elections, as well as the 2025 federal election.

Platform: Sharp’s policy banner is “climate ready city.” On housing, Sharp says Toronto should reject inclusionary zoning, simplify the planning process for buildings shorter than six storeys, support people to become small landlords, fight systems that use AI to set rent prices, push to stop rent increases between tenants, and favour non-profits and co-ops for subsidization programs. On taxes, rather than cut spending on services she deems necessary, Sharp says the city should instead raise more money from other sources. She does not take a stance on either increasing or decreasing Toronto police’s budget, but says the city needs to push the force to release details of what exactly it spends its funding on. Sharp supports a ranked-ballot voting system for Toronto elections and supports the “bubble-zone bylaw” restricting protests outside places of worship with some conditions.

Biography: Denis Tsang is a registered dietician and chair of the board of the College of Dietitians of Ontario. According to his LinkedIn, he also leads quality improvement and performance at Alliance for Healthier Communities, a health equity organization.

Platform: Tsang’s platform includes more housing, expanded transit, and better transparency in government.

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: According to his LinkedIn, Ibrahim Hatia recently graduated from George Brown Polytechnic and is currently working as an electrical field engineer. He is listed as the colleges and institutes representative for the Canadian Federation of Students.

Platform: Hatia’s platform includes advocating for clearer communication, creating opportunities for students to voice opinions, and pushing for a “more transparent, equitable approach” to school funding. He wants to advocate for more hands-on learning opportunities for students.

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: 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: Little information is available online about Dewitt Lee III. He was a Toronto mayoral candidate in 2010 and 2014, and previously ran for the TDSB in 2022, losing to Shelley Laskin.

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

Biography: Little information is available online about Christine McGirr. She previously ran as the Conservative candidate in Trinity-Spadina in the 2008 federal election and in St. Paul’s in the 2011 provincial election. She later ran for TDSB Trustee in the 2018 municipal election for Ward 11, losing to Rachel Chernos Lin.

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

Biography: Farzana Rajwani has been a TDSB trustee since 2022, representing Don Valley East. According to her LinkedIn, she has taught fundraising management at Humber Polytechnic, and held leadership roles at a number of institutions including the University Health Network Foundation, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Michael Garron Hospital, and the Aga Khan Museum.

As a trustee, she has been a member of the Program and School Services Committee, the Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee, and the Alternative Schools Advisory Committee. She lists accomplishments like advocating for increased funding from the province, supporting special education, math, and literacy, and strengthening mental health and addictions initiatives. Rajwani has been endorsed by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council, and by Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Platform: Rajwani’s platform includes calling for an end to provincial supervision, investing in aging school infrastructure and accommodating growing communities, and pushing for increased funding from the province to adequately fund operations and address the structural deficit. She wants to foster both strong student achievement and well-being.

Biography: Angela Kennedy is the incumbent Trustee for Ward 11, a role she’s held since 2000. She was the chair of the board from 2008 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2017. She has been a nurse since 1969.

Kennedy has previously opposed abortion rights, at the time some city councillors did not want Kennedy on the City’s Board of Health because of her history of voting against gay-straight alliances in schools, HPV vaccinations for female students, and abortion stance. However, Kennedy has publicly changed her stance on Ontario’s sex-ed curriculum—she was previously opposed to it, but changed her mind after learning from her son that he had been sexually abused as a child and would have benefited from the things taught by the curriculum. At the time, in an interview with Toronto Life, she also said she also “wasn’t really opposed” to gay-straight alliances. In 2022, she said that she advocated for enhanced safety measures during COVID and was a member of the TCDSB’s first 2SLGBTQ+ committee.

In 2022, Kennedy ran in the provincial election as a Progressive Conservative, placing third of nine candidates.

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

Biography: Little information is available online about Anton Perera. He ran for Ward 11 TCDSB trustee in 2022, finishing last. At the time, in a biography published in Beach Metro, Anton Perera says that he is an ophthalmic assistant for an eye surgeon.

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

Biography: Benoit Fortin is the incumbent trustee for Conseil scolaire Viamonde Ward 2 – Toronto Est, having held the role since 2018. He is running unopposed for the Viamonde ward, and is therefore elected by acclamation. He was previously elected by acclamation in 2022.

Fortin is also a founding member of SkyPower, a global solar energy company, where he is vice president of development for Africa and India. He is listed as a board director of L’Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario and the chair of the Conseil scolaire Viamonde.

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

Biography: Rhea Dechaine was elected trustee for Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Ward 4 in 2023. Before that, she spent eight years on the parent council at Georges-Étienne-Cartier elementary, including four as co-president. Dechaine says she has 10 years of experience in finance, has organized numerous community events, and attended a MonAvenir school herself.

Platform: Dechaine says she has helped make “significant progress” on the project to bring a French-language Catholic high school to east Toronto, and will keep working on it if re-elected. She commits to listening to parents before making decisions, supporting families as they navigate the school system, and defends the French-language Catholic school system. Dechaine emphasises that students need more than academic achievement to succeed, and wants to make schools places where all students can feel “safe, welcomed, respected, and supported.”

Biography: Little information is available online about Clescadine Gustave. In a candidate survey conducted by Toronto Public Library in French and machine translated to English, Gustave said she has children who have attended MonAvenir schools.

Platform: Gustave said in the library survey that her first priority as a trustee would be to promote the Catholic faith within schools and to ensure students start and end each day with prayer. To fight bullying and discrimination, Gustave said schools need better training for principals and staff. She supports class size caps, saying classrooms should have one teacher for every 21 students, or one teacher and one teaching assistant for every 27 students.

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.