Biography: Jaana Syeda Ali describes herself as having a background in business, and according to her LinkedIn is a key account manager at Saudi Airlines.

Platform: Ali says that she would advocate for more accountability from the TTC and more “financial perks” for transit users. She also promises to fight for safer intersections, better pedestrian crossings, reduced speeds, better traffic management, and dependable transit.

On housing, Ali says that she supports “responsible” development that respects a neighbourhood’s character, as well as consultation for new developments.

Ali’s other priorities include cleaning up parks, beaches, and other public spaces, supporting local businesses, and being a timely and communicative councilor, if elected.

Biography: James Dann was the City of Toronto’s waterfront parks manager from 1999 until 2024. According to Dann’s website, he’s worked on a number of city projects in Ward 19 like the restoration of the Kew Gardens Bandshell and streetscape, washrooms in Tommy Thompson Park, and the Martin Goodman Trail, among others.

Platform: Dann’s platform is broken up into four pillars: transportation, growth, better infrastructure, and climate.

On transportation, Dann wants to “fix the 501” by transferring streetcar service at Queen and Kingston to a bus service. Dann supports bike lanes and the repeal of Bill 212, the controversial law that allows the provincial government to remove bike lanes in the city. He would fight the province’s plan to expand Billy Bishop Airport.

On growth, Dann says that he would support building affordable housing quickly, including community and public housing. He would also encourage laneway, garden, and garage units to make better use of existing land for housing. He also says that he would support tenants’ bargaining rights and hold landlords accountable for negligence. He also says that infrastructure (like schools, sewer work, and community centres) needs to be added alongside housing so that new residents will be supported.

Dann also supports a pause on AI data centres until there are clear rules, proper land-use fit, and community consultations.

He would support an official Bangla Town designation in Ward 19.

While Dann says he doesn’t support clearing encampments without providing an alternative, he would support using bylaw and police enforcement to move encampments and provide those living in encampments a “real housing offer.”

Dann says that he would push for more energy-efficient standards for new homes, plant more trees, and continue pushing for the Beaches’ Blue Flag status, which stands for clean water.

Biography: Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is a lawyer who represented Beaches–East York as a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2026. He says Mayor Olivia Chow asked him to join her team at city hall. Before announcing his municipal run, Erskine-Smith unsuccessfully tried to secure the Ontario Liberal Party nomination in Scarborough Southwest for a byelection, and came second in a prior run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberals.

Erskine-Smith served a short stint as a cabinet minister in Trudeau’s government — responsible for housing, infrastructure and communities — but was removed from the post by Carney. Erskine-Smith said it was “impossible not to feel disrespected” by the demotion. Erskine-Smith has gained a reputation for speaking more candidly than most politicians do, and hosts a podcast and Reddit “Ask Me Anything” sessions alongside blogging on Substack As an MP, Erskine-Smith was called a “maverick” for voting against his own party more than anyone else in Parliament. He supported Carney’s spending on infrastructure, the military, and tariff relief, but opposed his subsidies for the LNG industry, cuts to international assistance, and what he called “stalled climate action.” He has called Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide” and publicly called on the foreign affairs minister to take further action on the issue. He has called for a “public health approach” to substance use instead of criminalization, arguing that substances like heroin could be tightly controlled through prescriptions, but also said he’d try to summon Meta executives to explain why its social media platforms Instagram and Facebook allowed ads for drugs like cocaine and oxycodone. As housing minister, Erskine-Smith said he wanted provinces to protect tenants’ rights to keep pets, and gave grants to municipalities building libraries and housing.

Erskine-Smith is endorsed by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Platform: Erskine-Smith named housing and climate change among his priorities at city hall. He says his former job as minister will be an asset as he works on zoning reform, community housing, tenant protections, and addressing homelessness. He promises to defend Toronto’s public waterfront and “reimagine” Woodbine Beach. He also says he’ll make sure city services like snow removal and lead pipe replacements are effective and easy to access.

Biography: Fatima Ibrahimi says she’s a health-care professional working in dentistry, and an internationally trained nurse.

Platform: Ibrahimi says her policy priorities are safer streets, more reliable public transit, better winter services, housing, and a 72-hour turnaround time for city services. She says she will use traffic-calming measures to make streets safer for children, seniors, and people with disabilities. She wants to push for clearer timelines for road maintenance work, and prioritize sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, transit stops, school routes, and senior facilities for snow clearing in winter. She aims to shorten wait times for affordable and rent-geared-to-income housing.

Biography: Natalie Johnson is a former CTV News city hall reporter, and before that was a producer on CTV’s Question Period and a field producer for CTV’s parliamentary bureau. Johnson also serves on the board of directors for Beaches Sandbox, a local non-profit community centre.

Johnson is endorsed by Stephanie Smyth, the Liberal MPP for Toronto-St.Paul’s and former councillor Karen Stintz.

Platform: Johnson argues for more proactive community policing in Beaches-East York, and a zero-tolerance policy for open drug use. She wants to rebuild the ward’s Gardiner’s ramps at Cherry Street. She also wants to expand traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps and curb extensions and support Vision Zero speed limits and enforcement.

She proposes quarterly scorecards for service deliveries in the Ward, measuring against 311 standards. Johnson also proposes extra litter bins in high-traffic spots and seasonal service level increases for amenities like washrooms.

Johnson says that she is opposed to expanding the island airport.

Biography: Kevin Morrison was elected as a trustee in the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s Ward 9 in 2023 (though trustee roles have since been eliminated in the Ford government’s takeover of key school boards). He says he’s a communications strategist and consultant.

As a trustee, Morrison advocated for more child-care spots in schools. He is a fierce critic of Premier Doug Ford, arguing that he has made life harder for young people by cutting OSAP and failing to make life more affordable, and criticizing the Ford government’s takeover of school boards as hurting local democracy and allowing the province to undercut education funding.

Platform: If elected, Morrison says he will fight against expansion of Billy Bishop airport, make sure that snow removal is compliant with Ontario’s rules for accessibility, and increase the frequency of buses and streetcars. He also says the neighbourhood at Main Street and Danforth Avenue needs a new school, community centre, and services as 7,000 new residential units are being built in the coming years. He wants to expand child-care availability. He proposes eliminating homelessness by creating new supportive housing, and says he wants to “stand up to developers,” who he says should be expected to create green space and community space as part of their building plans.

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: Mohammad Shabani says he is a business management consultant who is trained in the sciences. He was the co-chair of the Taylor-Massey Residents Wellness Council, a group that works to improve the health and social outcomes of residents of the neigbourhood, until 2025. During his time on the council, he helped bring health care to seniors who couldn’t leave their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shabani ran for council in 2017 in Ward 42, which no longer exists, and placed 19th out of 29 candidates. During that campaign, Shabani said that Scarborough was neglected and needed to fight for a larger share of Toronto’s budget for transit and services.

Platform: If elected, Shabani says he will improve life in high-rises by using a bylaw to force building owners to fix broken elevators within 48 hours and mandate they eradicate bed bugs and other pests. He wants to create outdoor “smart charging hubs” for e-bikes. In the Crescent Town-Secord-Dawes area, he proposes reducing car speed limits to 10 km/hour and prioritizing other road users like pedestrians, particularly children, over cars. He wants to reclaim parking spots and wide lanes for community gardens and public spaces, use energy audits to transition buildings to clean energy, and make sure that community events don’t create garbage. He suggests creating an official designation for “Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities”. His other ideas include creating “nature corporations” to protect Lake Ontario and the Don River; and creating a municipally owned credit union to act as a public investment bank.

Biography: Adam Smith works in visual effects and animation for film and television. He previously ran for council in Beaches–East York in 2022, coming in third out of seven candidates.

Smith has been the administrator of a community garden that grew food for a local food bank. With the Greater Beach Neighbourhood Association, he fought a development that ended up blocking the view of a historic firehall. He also says he’s helped improve safety on Martin Goodman Trail as a member of a city councillor’s transportation committee.

In videos posted to Instagram, Smith has spoken about the threat posed by climate change and said that Canada needs to transition to a circular economy.

Platform: Smith’s platform planks are providing a voice for the ward, safe and efficient transportation, and responsible development. He promises to consult constituents in a meaningful way before making decisions; improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety by updating crosswalks; and fight to force developers to follow urban design guidelines. On housing, he says Toronto’s public housing agency should become its own developer, and that the city should not have to entice developers to include affordable units in their buildings, but, rather, they should be a legal requirement. To prevent the contamination of recycling with garbage, Smith says the city needs strong enforcement and hefty fines. He also says it should be illegal for grocers and restaurants to destroy unsold food. The only new bike lane he would support as councillor would be on Danforth Avenue. Smith is opposed to expanding Billy Bishop airport.

Biography: Austin Vieira is a teacher at a Montessori school who says he led the drive to unionize his workplace. He opposed the involvement of American ICE agents in Toronto during the FIFA World Cup, has said he’s opposed to expanding Billy Bishop airport, and has praised online Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum.

Platform: Vieira’s policy priorities are child care, transit and bike lanes, housing, parks, prosperity and public safety. He says he wants to start diaper banks for parents and end child care deserts across the ward by requiring developers to build child care spaces when they build high-rise t buildings, turn vacant TTC lands into child care centres, fast-track the approvals process for non-profit child care centres in Danforth Village, and pay grants to workers who work at centres in underserved neighbourhoods. He wants to use transit signal priority and RapidTO bus lanes, which Mayor Olivia Chow has begun implementing, to ease transit bottlenecks on key corridors. He also says he’d have protected bike lanes on a section of Kingston Road, extend existing bike lanes on Cosburn Avenue, and add new cycling infrastructure elsewhere. On housing, Vieira says he would help lower the costs of laneway and garden suites for homeowners by eliminating city building fees for those types of units; push the city to act more often as a public developer; unlock vacant units above stores; and provide grants to small landlords. He also says he’ll push for police officers in all TTC stations, protect swimmers from “reckless jet ski operators,” upgrade community centres and pools, support new business improvement areas (BIAs), and ensure that trails are usable in winter. Vieira proposes adding a new tax on homes sold for more than $3 million, which Chow has already brought in.

Biography: Jeff Wahl says on his LinkedIn that he has worked as a marketing and project manager at cannabis and sales companies, and has managed retail stores.

Platform: Wahl says he will “represent the entire ward, with far greater emphasis on the EY [East York] of BEY [Beaches–East York].” His platform planks are housing, road safety, and city services. On housing, he promises to strengthen Mayor Olivia Chow’s new rules on “renovictions” by bringing in strong enforcement, fight for city funding for tenants’ rights organizations, create dedicated bylaw officers to inspect rental housing, use vacant lots for city-built housing, fight for more co-ops, and prioritize affordable and mixed-income developments over luxury condos. Wahl wants to “advocate loudly” for the province to bring back speed cameras, create bike lanes that are separated from traffic with physical barriers, and make sure that road repairs also make roads safer for all types of users. If elected, he says he’ll vote against any proposal to privatize city services, invest in well-paid, union jobs for city workers, and fight the province when it tries to download responsibilities onto municipalities. He wants to bring back safe consumption sites and protect public spaces like libraries.
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Biography: According to his LinkedIn, Devin Wilkins is a recently graduated student. He says he has volunteered at community events like the Beaches Jazz Festival, Toronto Beaches Lions Easter Parade, and the ward’s Canada Day Picnic.

Platform: Wilkins’ platform is based on public transit, housing policy, and community spaces. On transit, he promises to improve the TTC by expanding dedicated bus and streetcar lanes. He wants to create an east-west cycling corridor from Victoria Park Avenue to downtown, prepare for the Ontario Line, and turn Main Street Station and Danforth GO Station into “true multimodal” hubs. He says he will rezone neighbourhoods for more medium-density housing, reduce property taxes for parents of children, and add rent control to all residential units; the latter is actually a provincial power. On public spaces, Wilkins says he will improve pedestrian infrastructure, beautify the ward with murals, and “encourage neighbourhood retail and small businesses.”

Biography: Jennie Worden is currently on leave from her job as communications and program manager at the Canadian Journalism Foundation, an organization that provides fellowships, bursaries, and awards to journalists, and that produces events about media and journalism. She previously worked as the executive director of Orchestra Toronto and in professional roles at other arts organizations like Hot Docs, according to her LinkedIn. Worden has been involved in supporting tenants at 500 Dawes Rd., an apartment building where a justice of the peace said the “slumlord” owner “preys on vulnerable tenants.” Worden has also been part of community groups like tenants’ advocacy group ACORN, and East Enders Against Racism. She ran for city council in Beaches–East York once before, in 2022, and came second.

Platform: Worden says her campaign is based on accessible leadership, community-led planning, thriving main streets, and public transit. On her website, Worden outlines ten priorities if she gets elected, which include starting a feasibility study for a rebuild of Secord Elementary School and Secord Community Centre, getting repairs at 500 Dawes Rd. and other “problem buildings,” protecting the waterfront by refusing jets at Billy Bishop Airport, and improving lighting on Martin Goodman Trail. She wants to reduce the number of vacant storefronts in the ward, establish transit signal priority for streetcars, and adjust parking spot and patio placement. She also mentions safer streets and wants to add Glen Stewart ravine and Taylor Creek to the Toronto Ravine Strategy. She attended an Aug. 28 “Critical Mass” rally of cyclists who are opposed to Premier Doug Ford’s plan to rip out bike lanes.

Biography: Malik Ahmad describes himself as a small business owner. Ahmad ran for councillor in Ward 20 in the 2022 general election and the subsequent 2023 by-election, most recently placing 12th out of 23 candidates. His campaigns have focused on improving housing, tenant protections, transit, and bike lanes, among other issues. Ahmad is also the co-founder of the International Indian Film Festival Toronto.

Platform: Ahmad’s campaign focuses on student and staff well-being, addressing racism and discrimination, and supporting newcomers. He wants to improve access to support for students with diverse learning needs, and prioritizes the “responsible stewardship of public funds.”

Biography: Azim Dewan is a real estate salesperson, according to Realtor.ca. He was involved in the planning of the International Mother Language Day monument in Dentonia Park.

Platform: Dewan’s website appears to no longer be available. A previous version of the site mentioned providing literacy and numerical skills to students, improving accessibility, and supporting safe learning environments.

Biography: Karen Emerson has worked as an artistic director at Children’s Peace Theatre. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was in that role for nearly 15 years, from 2007 to 2022.

Emerson is endorsed by the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, with the organization describing her as “lifelong advocate for children, youth, and strong public education.” She is also endorsed by Progress Toronto and by Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Platform: Emerson’s platform focuses on advocating against having police in schools, pushing back on budget cuts, and bringing back power to TDSB trustees. She wants to reinstate funding for model schools and special education, and address the repair and maintenance shortfall in school buildings.

Biography: Ahnaaf Hassan served as a student trustee within TDSB, elected by students for the 2025-2026 term. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s now a first-year student at the University of Toronto.

In November 2025, Hassan, along with four other student trustees, wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail criticizing Bill 33, the provincial government’s act that stripped TDSB trustees and others of their role and placed those school boards under supervision.

Platform: Ahnaaf Hassan’s platform focuses on restructuring school funding to support all schools within the ward, including model schools. He advocates for an adequate food and nutrition program for students, and special education funding.

Biography: Little information about Md Sazibul Islam is available online. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is doing an internship as an accountant and tax consultant. On his campaign website, Sazibul Islam says he contributes to the community through volunteer tax clinics.

Platform: Sazibul Islam’s platform focuses on expanded food programs in schools, improved ventilation systems, and stronger bullying prevention and response. He mentions mental health and better supports for students with accessibility needs, alongside access to extracurriculars and technological and financial literacy. He wants to foster strong literacy and numeracy foundations, and communication with parents.

Biography: Glenn Kremp is currently the co-chair and safety representative of Birch Cliff Public School Parent Council. Kremp says he has served as a member of Toronto Police Service’s Community Police Liaison Committee.

Platform: On his website, Kremp says he will support a way for students to balance school life with technology, saying he wants to “put more pen to paper back in the classroom.” He also says he will champion more funding that goes towards supporting students, and make sure that parent and student councils are engaged.

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: Jocelyne Poirier is a Chartered Professional Accountant in Ontario, with roughly 15 years of experience in accounting and finance. According to her LinkedIn profile, she’s the director of finance at ExamWorks, a U.S.-based company that provides medical exams and platforms to health care clients.

In 2025, Poirier ran as the federal Conservative MP candidate for the Beaches-East York riding. She came in a distant second place, losing to Liberal candidate Nathan Erskine-Smith.

Platform: Poirier’s platform focuses on “high-quality education” for students, inclusive and safe schools, and accountability and local representation that stays engaged with local families.

Biography: Marisa Sterling is a professional chemical engineer. She worked as an assistant dean and a director of diversity, inclusion and professionalism at the University of Toronto. Prior to that, she was the assistant dean, inclusivity and diversity, at Lassonde School of Engineering at York University.

Sterling served as president-elect of Professional Engineers Ontario, having been elected in the role in 2019. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was in the organization until 2022; she now works as a director of professional development and inclusivity at Hygienic Echo, a company that creates badge technology in support of hand hygiene.

In 2014, Sterling sought the Liberal nomination for the Beaches-East York riding, but lost to Nathan Erskine-Smith. She filed an appeal with the Liberal party, alleging that the winning candidate used robocalls to encourage votes. The Ottawa Citizen reported that the appeal was triggered by “unproven suspicions”.

Platform: Sterling’s platform focuses on advocating to restore leadership within the TDSB and combatting the province’s current supervision of the board. She wants to create an engagement network to connect all schools within the ward, and push for smaller class sizes and better support for students.

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: 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: 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.