Ward 23 — Scarborough North

Biography: Shaun Chen is the former Liberal MP for the Scarborough North riding. He held the role from 2015 up until August this year due to “significant health issues,” as a result of a motor vehicle accident that took place in fall 2025. He said that the health issues made it difficult for him to travel to Ottawa frequently.

Prior to being MP, Chen was a TDSB trustee for Ward 21, having been elected for the role for three terms, in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He was also elected as board chair in 2014.

During Chen’s time as MP, he introduced a motion to condemn anti-Asian hate and address anti-Asian racism, which was adopted unanimously.

Earlier this year Chen faced allegations of partaking in House votes while he was in China; members of parliament can only vote when in the country. However, Chen’s office supplied The Canadian Press copies of his boarding pass, and copies of his Visa stamps on Chen’s passport which indicated that he was in Canada to vote.

Platform: If elected, Chen says he will work on affordability and the cost of living, build housing, transit and infrastructure, and support seniors, young people and “vulnerable” groups. He also says he will work on making local businesses succeed.

Biography: Han Dong is a former Liberal MPP and MP in the governments of Kathleen Wynne and Justin Trudeau. Dong represented Trinity–Spadina at Queen’s Park between 2014 and 2018 but lost his redrawn seat to an NDP candidate in the 2018 election that brought Premier Doug Ford to power. He then jumped into federal politics, winning Don Valley North for the federal Liberals in 2019 and 2021. Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus in 2023 after a Global News report accused him of communicating with the Chinese consulate against Canada’s interests, an allegation that a commission of inquiry later found to be false. Dong sued Global News and its parent company for defamation and the lawsuit was settled in 2025. Before the specific allegation about Dong was published, he warned that “vague” allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian politics could contribute to anti-Chinese racism, saying he already had a “target” on his back.

As an MP, Dong introduced a committee motion that brought Rogers executives before MPs after a massive outage network in 2022 caused millions of Canadians to lose internet and cell phone service; and presented a petition to Parliament calling for all children in Canada to be allowed to receive the Canada Child Benefit, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. As an MPP, he pushed for better elevator access and faster repairs, which he said was a public safety issue, and helped bring Presto card sales into Shoppers Drug Mart stores.

Platform: Dong’s platform for Scarborough focuses on safety, road repairs, commutes, responsible spending, and being accessible to constituents. If elected, he promises to complete “lighting audits” of every public park and street in his first 100 days, create a safety table focused on reducing car thefts and home break-ins, and coordinate Neighbourhood Community Officers under a public safety plan. He says he will consult a park’s users before making any changes to the space, and make cross-walks safer for seniors. He wants to find funding for the Sheppard Subway Extension. He is opposed to RapidTO bus lanes on Finch Avenue East, which he says “take a lane from drivers.” He also says he will bring police hubs into shopping malls to reduce crime.

Biography: Little information is available online about Sajawal Javed.

Platform: Some of the priorities listed in an Instagram post by Javed include affordable housing, implementing better transit, supporting local businesses, and safer neighbourhoods.

Biography: According to Kevin Li’s campaign website, he was an assistant to Ward 23 Councillor Cynthia Lai until her death in 2022. During Lai’s tenure, Li says he received a community service award from her.

Li also says that he serves as an advisor to Scarborough Ontario Health Team, a network of healthcare providers, though he is not listed on its website.

Li’s campaign website also goes on to say that he’s supported multiple charities including the Mon Sheong Foundation and long-term care organization Yee Hong.

Platform: According to Li’s campaign website, he is in favour of more policing to keep communities safe. He also says that he sees the need for more reliable city services with faster response times, and to ensure property tax increases do not surpass resident’s ability to pay or income increases. He wants councillors to commit to serving their full terms at city hall rather than leaving to run for other positions.

Biography: Myers was elected in 2022 after incumbent councillor Cynthia Lai died just days before the election. He was formerly a lawyer and community organizer involved with Scarborough Transit Action, and campaigned on affordable housing and improving public transit.

He was appointed TTC chair by Olivia Chow in 2023, and additionally sits on Audit, Budget, and Planning and Housing committees. He is chair of the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee.

In a closed-door TTC board meeting in October 2023, Myers tried to suspend TTC CEO Rick Leary pending the result of a workplace investigation, but was outvoted. (Leary resigned eight months later.) After a lithium-ion battery fire on the subway, Myers pushed for a wintertime ban on e-bikes and e-scooters on the TTC. He passed a motion to look into “adaptively reusing” the old SRT elevated track as a park or pedestrian/cycling corridor.

Myers initiated a multiplex pilot project in his ward, encouraging the development of low-rise buildings with up to six units—a prerequisite for federal housing funding—and studying the impact.

He successfully added a requirement for at least two members of the Housing Rights Advisory Committee to be people with disabilities.

Myers has been endorsed by Scarborough—Guildwood MPP Andrea Hazell, Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park MP Gary Anandasangaree, and the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Platform: On his website, Myers mentions faster transit, housing affordability, local businesses, investments in community, and city services.

Biography: Little information is available online about John-Mark Oleh. An orientation slide from York University shows that Oleh was the Stong College Student Government president in 2023.

Platform: Oleh’s campaign website says that he will push for more reliable and frequent bus services, improve bus shelters and lighting, and push for better transit infrastructure within the ward. He wants to better support neighbourhood health services. He also says he would support funding for parks and public spaces (in addition to making them more accessible), support mental health programs for young people, and be transparent on public spending.

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 Piravena Sathiyanantham. She says on Facebook that she is a paralegal, but she is not listed in the Law Society of Ontario’s directory. In 2016, she ran for the Ward 21 TDSB trustee and came in 11th out of 20 candidates.

Platform: Sathiyanantham’s platform includes improvements to parks, community centres, and recreation programs, better transit, and more affordable housing.