All wards/Ward 21

City Council · Ward 21

Scarborough Centre

11
Candidates registered
11
Days until polls open
Mon, Oct 26
Election day

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Five decisions facing the next council

Should Toronto permit substantially more housing as-of-right in every ward, including areas currently dominated by detached and semi-detached homes?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Yes

    Yes, but I will always strongly oppose downtown-style intensification which prioritizes high-rises and condos over more appropriate housing types that don't ruin the design and character of our neighbourhoods (usually those which fall within the missing middle).

When a person living in a park has been offered an available indoor space that meets their accessibility, safety and household needs, should the city require them to leave the encampment?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Yes

Should Toronto introduce road-pricing measures, such as congestion charges or tolls, if the revenue is dedicated to transportation improvements?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    No

    I don't believe it's appropriate to ask residents to directly pay yet another tax during a cost-of-living crisis. The city has explored other revenue-raising mechanisms that do not impact the average Torontonian, like a 2 cent commercial parking levy with exemptions for small businesses.

Should Toronto raise additional local revenue to address its infrastructure repair backlog rather than defer maintenance while seeking funding from other governments?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Yes

    But as mentioned prior, these additional measures should be studied extensively to ensure they have the most minimal impact as possible on the average Torontonian, as not to exacerbate the affordability crunch being felt by most of the city.

Should Toronto publish project-level budgets, schedules and performance updates for all major capital projects?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Yes

    This type of transparency measure is extremely important for a city that is constantly struggling with projects running over schedule and over budget. Allowing journalists and the general public to audit individual projects for waste is an effective way to ensure council spends responsibly.

Public safety and public space

Which approach should receive the greatest additional investment to improve public safety?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Mental-health response, addiction treatment and youth intervention

Over the next council term, the Toronto Police Service budget should:

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Remain approximately constant after inflation

How should Toronto govern automated licence-plate readers and similar surveillance technology used on public streets?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Restrict their use to narrowly authorized investigations

Transit and transportation

What should receive the greatest share of the next available transit funding?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    More frequent and reliable service on existing routes

When there is not enough street space for every use, which should generally receive priority?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Deliveries, trades, emergency vehicles and accessibility

Housing and growth

If Toronto could make one major housing intervention this term, which should receive the greatest emphasis?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Build or finance substantially more affordable and supportive housing

What should be Toronto's primary role in delivering affordable and supportive housing?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Supply land, funding and incentives to non-profit and private providers

Where should Toronto permit the greatest increase in housing density?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Concentrate growth on major streets and near rapid transit

City government and service delivery

Which change would you implement to reduce the cost of building housing in Toronto?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Expand as-of-right zoning and automate routine permits

What is the most important change Toronto should make to reduce capital-project delays and cost overruns?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Strengthen professional project management, procurement and contracting

Which service-delivery model should Toronto use more often?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Move major functions to arm's-length organizations with clear performance mandates

Taxes, spending and fiscal sustainability

Over the next council term, residential property-tax revenues should generally:

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Grow approximately with inflation and population

Which type of additional revenue should Toronto rely on most heavily?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Land-transfer taxes, development charges and taxes on real-estate activity

What should Toronto do first to address its infrastructure repair backlog?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Introduce a levy or other recurring source reserved for maintenance

Governance and representation

What should be Toronto's primary approach to the provincial government?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Publicly press for greater authority, revenue and a different fiscal arrangement

Strong mayor powers should be used mainly for:

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    the powers should sit unused regardless of who holds them

Your ward and your record

Which objective should receive the greatest attention in your ward during the next council term?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Enforcement, public-space management and responses to disorder

Which single result should voters use to assess your performance at the end of the term?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Safer, cleaner and better-maintained streets and public spaces

Priorities and trade-offs

Over the next council term, Toronto should:

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Finish approved projects but undertake few additional road reallocations

When demonstrations substantially block transportation or access to essential institutions, the city should prioritize:

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Protect protest subject to clear rules for locations, access routes and duration

Where should Toronto direct its next major technology investment?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Public data and systems that measure outcomes and hold departments accountable

When Toronto faces a structural operating-budget gap, what should it do first?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Reduce internal administration, staffing or contract costs

What is the most important municipal intervention for improving Toronto's business climate?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Expand housing, transportation, public safety and infrastructure

How should Toronto attract major employers, investment and events?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Housing affordability, transportation, safety and quality of life

What should Toronto prioritize to increase construction capacity?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Maintain a stable, long-term pipeline of public projects

What should receive the greatest priority in Toronto's public-realm budget?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Markets, events, patios, recreation and cultural programming

What should be Toronto's primary tool for supporting arts, culture and nightlife?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Planning and property measures that preserve existing venues and workspaces

If autonomous taxi services operate in Toronto, which condition should the city prioritize?

1 of 11 candidates responded

  • Taiba Ahmed    Accessibility, geographic coverage and minimum service standards

Candidates are grouped by the answer they gave. Options nobody in this ward picked are not shown, and a candidate who answered in their own words sits on no option. Notes are the candidates’ own words. Candidates who have not returned the questionnaire are named at the top of this section.

How the whole city answered

Registered candidates from the City Clerk’s list, less anyone who has withdrawn. The field is not final until nominations close on Aug 21, 2026.

About this ward

IncumbentMichael ThompsonSeeking re-election

The centre of Scarborough, taking in Wexford/Maryvale, Dorset Park, Bendale, Eglinton East and Ionview, and wrapping around the Scarborough Centre transit and civic hub. More than half its residents were born outside Canada. Its housing splits almost evenly between single-detached houses and apartment buildings, with little in between.

111,560
Population

+1.0% since 2016 · 2,761,285 citywide

3,955
Residents per km²

28.2 km² of land

$78,000
Median household income

$84,000 citywide

43.2%
Renter households

$1,338 average monthly rent · 48.1% citywide

35.8%
Renters spending 30%+ of income on housing

40.0% citywide

41.5%
Homes in buildings of five storeys or more

34.2% single-detached · 46.7% citywide

55.3%
Residents born outside Canada

46.6% citywide

13.3%
Residents in low income

Low-income measure, after tax · 13.2% citywide

Figures from the 2021 Census of Population, via the City of Toronto’s ward profiles.

Ward 20
Scarborough Southwest
Ward 22
Scarborough-Agincourt