Ward 2 — Etobicoke Centre

Biography: Jennifer Alexander is the writer of two substacks, The Etobicoke Voice and This Mom Roars, both of which address political issues like the illegal use of e-scooters, the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport, and the role of women in politics. Alexander has written that Ontario’s schools are crowded and underresourced, and has said that Premier Doug Ford only wins elections because a majority of Ontarians have become too disillusioned to even vote.

Alexander is on the steering committee of Walk Toronto, an advocacy group for pedestrian safety, and is the volunteer coordinator at the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition, which pushes for road space to be reallocated for cyclists, pedestrians and public transit vehicles.

Platform: Alexander has released a 180-day plan for the ward. She says she would meet with city staff to discuss road safety improvements, establish resident working groups to give constituents a voice and provide “plain-language explanations” of the city’s decisions. She also wants to improve local services and safety by addressing the root causes of crime.

Biography: Katie Andrachuk has worked as a constituency and policy advisor for Etobicoke Centre at City Hall according to her website, and also as manager of communications and public engagement for Waterfront Toronto.

Platform: Andrachuk focuses on using tax dollars to improve infrastructure maintenance and services in the city, and sustainably growing the ward’s housing supply, while also growing local commerce and community resources like transit and community centres. She wants to see greener urban infrastructure and supports finding alternatives to car travel, including improved pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

Biography: Stephen Holyday is the incumbent city councillor for Etobicoke Centre, a position he has held since his election in 2014.

Holyday supports extending Line 2 to Sherway Gardens. During his most recent term, Holyday voted against the establishment of public grocery stores, calling the idea “preposterous”; argued that rain barrels sold by the city should be priced higher to moderate demand; and opposed the pedestrianization of Church Street. He tried unsuccessfully to cancel the tax on vacant homes and opposed the city’s new rapid transit lanes, saying, “It’s using FIFA as an excuse to have more war on the car.”.

Holyday is known for his eccentric use of props during city council debates, using heart-shaped sunglasses, lifejackets, a taped-together house of cards, and once even a magician’s hat to make his points.

Holyday hasn’t missed a single vote at council this term, a Toronto Star columnist reported in May. And many of those votes are “No”—he is often the lone dissenter on Council motions.

The councillor is the son of politician Doug Holyday, who was a longtime city councillor and mayor of Etobicoke from 1994 to 1997.

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