How well do you know your ward? Do you know where its boundaries are, what issues residents are facing or even who your city councillor is?
With Torontonians heading to the polls this month, The Green Line’s breaking down the city ward by ward, so you know your community, the people who represent it, and what’s at stake in this election.
Here’s what you need to know about Ward 21 Scarborough Centre.
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Ward 21 runs through central Scarborough, south of Highway 401, north of Eglinton Avenue East and between Victoria Park Avenue to the west and roughly McCowan Road or Bellamy Road North to the east. It includes Bendale, Dorset Park, Wexford/Maryvale, Ionview and parts of Eglinton East. Because the boundary bends around streets and properties, residents should confirm their specific address using the City’s ward map or MyVote.
According to the City’s 2021 Census ward profile, Scarborough Centre has 111,560 residents.
- People aged 20 to 49 make up 41.4% of the ward.
- 55.3% of residents are immigrants. The Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, China and Guyana were the leading places of birth among immigrants.
Scarborough Centre residents’ median annual household income is $78,000 — which is $6,000 below the city average. 13% of residents are classified as low-income, meaning they make less than $30,000 per year.
42% of homes are apartment buildings over five storeys and 34% are single-detached houses, with 43% of residents being renters and 57% being homeowners.
Scarborough Centre’s local issues
Transit is a major issue in Ward 21, both for trips downtown and for getting around Scarborough.
The four-kilometre Scarborough Busway just opened on Sept. 30 along the former Line 3 corridor, cutting the Kennedy-to-Scarborough Centre trip to about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the Scarborough Subway Extension will extend Line 2 by 7.8 kilometres to Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road, with a new Scarborough Centre station and bus terminal. A ward councillor can advocate on access, construction impacts and City budgets, but doesn’t control the provincial project schedule.
Growth around Scarborough Centre is another major local issue, with the Scarborough Centre Secondary Plan underway.
Ward 21 also has ongoing road, sewer and watermain work, including projects on Brimley and Kennedy roads.
Ward 21 candidates
Michael Thompson currently represents Ward 21. He was first elected in 2018, re-elected in 2022 and is seeking re-election this year.
Candidates also include Taiba Ahmed, Bahareh Barahmand, Patience Evbagharu, Uthish Ganesh, Stella Kargiannakis, Nisha Kumari, Akina Lalla, Willie Reodica, Madura Shanmugaratnam and Krissan Veerasingam.
You can find The Green Line’s tool to fact-check candidates here to make an informed decision before voting.
Don’t live in Ward 21, but are a Toronto resident? Visit The Green Line for information about Toronto’s other wards and more hyperlocal election coverage.
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