Biography: Shawn Allen is a mortgage broker who founded Matrix Mortgage Global, which was listed by the Financial Post as one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada in 2018 and 2019.

He is also the business and community advisor for the Scarborough Business Association (SBA), serving a two-year term as president of the association prior, which he finished in April 2025. During his time as president, SBA’s growth membership went up by 600 per cent, according to the SBA’s Facebook post.

Allen also founded and organized a conference on affordable housing in Ontario in 2024 and 2025.

In 2023 Allen criticized Toronto for its “underserved” transit systems in Scarborough and its temporary rideshare cap.

Allen ran for city councillor in Ward 25 during the by-election in 2025. He came in third place out of 20 candidates. At the time, he was endorsed by councillor and now-mayoral candidate Brad Bradford and councillor Jon Burnside. He was also endorsed by centre-right advocacy group ABC.

Platform: In a LinkedIn post, Allen says he will not support future property tax hikes. He says on his campaign website that residents should see where their property tax money goes to ensure transparency and accountability.

Allen also says he will keep track on transit times within the ward to make sure that buses run on time. He also underlines the need to create the Eglinton East LRT. He wants to preserve Rouge Park.

Biography: Dharshan Casinathen’s LinkedIn says that he’s a senior manager at Labatt Breweries of Canada.

Platform: Casinathen’s campaign website says he will prioritize safe streets, invest in transit, and make small businesses prosper.

In an Instagram video, Casinathen says potholes in the ward need to be fixed and maintained within the ward. He also says in another video that he will aim to be more transparent when it comes to 311 service requests.

Biography: Ashan Fernando was the president of the West Hill – Highland Creek Lion’s Club, a volunteer-based organization that funds community-centred causes. His campaign website says he’s a board member of the Self Advocacy Council at Surrey Place, a non-profit that supports people with developmental disabilities and autism. Fernando joined the board in 2022.

Fernando ran for the seat in the Ward 25 by-election last year and came in 12th place out of 20 candidates. He has previously run for city council in Ward 25, and for the Liberal nomination for the Scarborough-Rouge River riding in 2016.

In an Instagram post Fernando says that he is “pro-life” and that he is endorsed by the anti-abortion group, Campaign Life Coalition.

Platform: Fernando says he will pledge to have up to $500,000 in funding for “high needs” neighbourhoods.

Fernando says he prioritizes improved roads and transit, affordable housing, and clean parks. He wants to improve safety by making policing more visible.

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 Jannette Lumley. According to LinkedIn, Lumley is a self-employed travel coordinator, a consul for international students at City College Toronto, and a paralegal.

Platform: According to an Instagram post, Lumley will focus on making neighbourhoods safer, supporting youth and seniors, and growing the ward’s local economy. She lists accountable leadership and stronger communities as campaign goals.

Biography: Zakir Patel served as TDSB school trustee for Scarborough-Guildwood from 2018 until 2025, when trustee roles were eliminated after the province put the TDSB and other boards under supervision. He has been vocal in pushing back against provincial supervision. Patel was on several committees within the TDSB, including the Toronto Lands Corporation, and the Finance, Budget and Enrolment Committee.

During his time as trustee, Patel campaigned for the province to fund the rebuilding of a public school within Ward 19.

Patel was also appointed a board member of the Cedarbrae Markham Lawrence
Business Improvement Area Board of Management in 2025.

Last year Patel ran in the Ward 19 councillor by-election and came fifth out of 20 candidates.

Patel’s LinkedIn says he has a background in real estate.

Platform: If elected, Patel says he will work on maintaining property tax increases to keep them affordable, advocate for “stronger community-based policing and visible neighbourhood presence,” push for more frequent bus routes and connections within Scarborough and between neighbourhoods, and preserve public spaces, including parks, transit stops and streets.

Biography: Dianna Robinson is a real estate broker at Keller Williams Referred Urban Reality. She ran for councillor during the Scarborough-Rouge Park by-election in September, coming in 10th place out of 20 candidates. When she ran, she criticized the city for its “wasteful spending,” and criticized the provincial government for Bill 9, a law that standardized rules across Ontario municipalities for misbehaving politicians.

In 2025 an individual of the same name spoke to the provincial Standing Committee On Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy, regarding her concerns on Bill 9, while also adding that she was the mother of Lisa Robinson, a Pickering city councillor and a member of the People’s Party of Canada. Lisa Robinson has had multiple pay suspensions following multiple misconducts complaints within council.

Robinson ran for school trustee for Ward 22 during the 2022 election, and came in second out of four candidates.

Platform: Robinson does not have a platform at the time of publication.

Biography: Kannan S’ree Jr. is a criminal defence lawyer with his own firm, It Wasn’t Me Law Firm.

Platform: This candidate does not have a platform available online at the time of publication. On Instagram, he posts videos critical of Neethan Shan.

Biography: Neethan Shan was elected to Council less than a year ago in a by-election to replace former Ward 25 — Scarborough-Rouge Park councillor and deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie, who stepped down to run for federal office. Before winning the seat, Shan ran for office 14 times in 23 years, five of which were successful. He was elected school trustee for the York Region District School Board once and the Toronto District School Board three times; in 2017, he was elected to Toronto City Council in a by-election for what was then Ward 42 (Scarborough—Rouge River) to replace councillor Raymond Cho, who had stepped down to run provincially. Shan has also been president of the Ontario NDP, and executive director of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians.

He currently sits on Executive Committee, the Economic and Community Development Committee, the boards of the Toronto Zoo and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and is the Mayor’s Designate on the Toronto Hydro Corporation Board of Directors.

This term, Shan unsuccessfully tried to exempt major streets in his ward from neighbourhood retail. He successfully tabled motions to improve access to City-owned spaces for community programs in Scarborough, and properly arrange external funding to improve the Malvern Park tennis courts. Shan also passed motions supporting the Tamil Community Centre, working towards a Filipino Community Centre, proclaiming July as Caribbean Heritage Month and April as Nepali Heritage Month, and proclaiming September 26, 2026 as Cricket Day in Toronto.

Shan is endorsed by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

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

Biography: Little information about Vane Stavrev is available online. A LinkedIn page says someone of the same name worked as a volunteer for the Conservative Party of Canada. The Local could not confirm if this is the same person running for candidacy.

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.

Biography: No information could be found online about this candidate at the time of publishing. A person with the same name is listed as the parent council chair at St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy, a high school in Scarborough.

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

Biography: Little information is available online about Mary Cury Paul. On LinkedIn, she is listed as a teacher at Canadian Tamil Academy.

Platform: Paul’s platform includes fighting for counselling services in schools, ensuring the board is held accountable, and teaching students human values and creativity “in a world shaped by artificial intelligence”.

Biography: Garry Tanuan has been the TCDSB trustee for Ward 8 since 2012. He is the current vice-chair of the board and has served on several committees including student achievement, governance, and the by-law review committee. He was the trustee representative on the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee and sits on the board of directors for the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

In 2013, Tanuan brought forward a motion for the TCDSB to resist Ontario’s Accepting Schools Act which mandated that boards allow student gay-straight alliance groups and activities. At the time, he expressed that this Act would promote a “positive view of homosexual activity”. In 2019, Tanuan voted against a motion to amend the Code of Conduct to adopt the terms marital status, family status, gender identity, and gender expression. In 2021, he voted against a motion to proclaim June as Pride month and fly a Pride flag at TCDSB schools.

In 2024, Tanuan was one of only two trustees to vote in favour of flying the “pro-life flag” at TCDSB schools and encouraging students to participate in an annual anti-abortion rally in Ottawa.

Platform: On his website, Tanuan says he will place God and faith at the centre of every policy, ensure families have a voice in decisions, improve academic standards, and advocate for students with special needs.

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.