Biography: Incumbent Paul Ainslie has been on Council since 2006, when he was appointed as an interim councillor for the old Ward 41—Scarborough-Rouge River and subsequently ran and was elected in the old Ward 43—Scarborough East. He is currently chair of the General Government Committee and also sits on Executive Committee, the TTC board, the Toronto Zoo board, the Toronto Public Library board (which he formerly chaired), and many more, as well as working with inter-municipality organizations.

Over the years, Ainslie has closely allied himself with whoever the current mayor is, although he eventually broke from Rob Ford as the mayor’s scandals began to pile up. During this term, he hewed close to John Tory except on “strong mayor” powers, and has voted with Olivia Chow on virtually every key item—except the “bubble zone” bylaw, where he was one of a small number of councillors who consistently voted against restricting protests. He also tried and failed to have Guildwood Parkway excluded from the plan amendment permitting townhouses and low-rise apartments on major streets.

He has also championed and pushed to improve the city’s Open Data Portal.

He has been endorsed by former Scarborough city councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker.

Platform: Ainslie’s priorities include expanding housing options, building safe communities by partnering with the police and local organizations, and supporting local businesses. He wants to invest in public transit and safer roads and advocate for Scarborough not just at City Hall, but Queen’s Park and Ottawa.

Biography: Robert Bazil is an executive officer at the Guyana Consulate General in Toronto. His LinkedIn page says he’s the publisher and editor of Guyana Petroleum Digest, a currently inactive online publication about that country’s oil industry. Bazil is also a licensed paralegal and an award-winning former journalist and communications expert in Guyana prior to moving to Canada in 2008.

Bazil says he is part of the Miracle Arena for All Nations church. One pastor at this “charismatic” church has faced fraud charges; another has faced unproven allegations of financial exploitation, sexual violence (including against a minor), and trafficking.

Platform: Bazil says he will “Make Scarborough-Guildwood safe again,” by creating crime prevention programs for young people. He also says he will improve transit, work on more affordable housing, and focus on city-related issues like homelessness, addiction and traffic congestion.

His campaign website also says that he will create a city-funded program that will support single mothers.

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: Nachiappan “Nachi” Ramasamy is the president of the Tamil Nadu Cultural Society of Canada, a nonprofit that supports Tamil people in Canada. He has a background as a tool and die maker.

Platform: Ramasamy’s campaign website says he prioritizes safe school zones, flood protection, more frequent transit, and maintaining roads and infrastructure. He says he is committed to remaining transparent and communicative with the ward’s residents, if elected.

Biography: Arun Sivanandan is a real estate agent in Toronto.

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: 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: Darren Frake is a principal at Canada International College, an Ontario Ministry of Education accredited private school. Frake has been a staff member of the school since 2010, having first started out as a teacher.

Frake ran for trustee in Ward 20 during the 2022 municipal election, coming in second place out of four candidates.

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

Biography: Little information about Aria Garcia is available online. Garcia lists a link to her podcast from 2014 as her campaign website.

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

Biography: Little information about Gary McBean is available online. In 2014, an individual of the same name ran for mayor during the 2014 municipal election, coming 52nd out of 65 candidates. The Local could not confirm if this is the same individual seeking election.

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

Biography: Little information about Nantheeswarar is available online. He is listed as a member of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee within the TDSB.

Platform: Nantheeswarar’s website says he prioritizes STEM education through hands-on and technologically informed learning. He wants to protect dedicated funding for arts programs, and make them accessible and diverse. He supports practical knowledge like financial literacy and civic engagement, and wants to encourage youth leadership skills, early literacy, and student athletics.

Biography: Little information about Ketan Purohit is available online. According to his campaign website, he’s a mechanical engineering graduate, with experience working with cities and public institutions.

Platform: On his campaign website, Purohit says his priorities are student success, listening to parents and the community, and safe, culturally respectful, inclusive schools. He also mentions accountability and transparency.

Biography: Anu Sriskandarajah is the TDSB trustee of Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge Park, having been elected for the role in 2018 and again in the 2022 election. In 2025, trustees were stripped of power after the Ford government put the board under supervision, and then capped the number of trustees in the TDSB by nearly half.

Sriskandarajah is also an associate professor at York University’s Department of Humanities. In 2018, she and her husband, Parthi Kandavel were the first married couple in Toronto to be elected as trustees.

Sriskandarajah sits on multiple committees, including the Policy and Governance Committee, where she is vice-chair.

In 2025, Sriskandarajah ran for city councillor for Ward 25, coming in second place to Neethan Shan. During her campaign, she vocalized her disagreement with the provincial government’s claims about the TDSB being financially mismanaged. Sriskandarajah also voted against the TDSB budget in September 2025 due to its proposed reduction in funding to outdoor and special education programs.

In April 2025, Sriskandarajah supported the motion for the TDSB to change its funding policy to allow one percent of school council fundraising money to go towards other schools within the board. The motion did not pass.

In 2023, Sriskandarajah seconded a motion for the TDSB to recognize caste oppression in its schools, and to seek support from the Ontario Human Rights Commission on the matter. The motion carried.

Sriskandarajah is endorsed by the Labour Council of Toronto and York Region, and by Toronto Education Workers/Local 4400, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

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

Biography: Little information about Sherri Williams is available online. There is a Sherri-Anne Williams who ran for councillor for Scarborough-Rouge River in 2014 and placed sixth out of 11 candidates. The Local could not confirm if this is the same individual running for council.

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.

Nancy Crawford has been the TCDSB trustee for the ward since 2010. She is running unopposed in the TCDSB ward, and is therefore elected by acclamation.

Biography: During her time as trustee, Crawford has chaired all Standing Committees and served on the board of directors for the Angel Foundation for Learning, a charity in the TCDSB that supports students with financial challenges. She has also been on the Nurturing Our Catholic Community Advisory Panel, which operates faith initiatives and focuses on students’ spiritual education.

Platform: On Crawford’s Instagram account, she advocates for improvements in school infrastructure, including air purification and ventilation, funding for new schools, and securing learning supports for all students. Crawford mentions supporting an “age appropriate Catholic family life curriculum”, and having an inclusive learning environment for all students. She seeks to listen to parents’ concerns and center Jesus and Catholicism in all TCDSB classrooms.

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.