Candidate Accountability Guide
FIVE-PILLAR FRAMEWORK (campaign scoring system)
Each candidate is scored against the five key campaign arguments:
| Pillar | What "Aligned" Looks Like |
|---|---|
| P1 — AG Strategy | Publicly supports a provincial homelessness strategy with targets; endorsed Bill 28 or equivalent |
| P2 — OW Advocacy | Has pushed province to raise OW/ODSP; advocated for shelter-allowance deduction fix |
| P3 — HART Hub | Distinguishes treatment (HART) from housing; calls for independent evaluation and guaranteed housing pathways |
| P4 — COHB Restoration | Publicly demanded provincial COHB restoration to $54M (300 households/month) |
| P5 — HSCIS Support | Voted Yes on EC7.7 (Nov 2023), PH23.3 (July 2025), and EC13.8 (June 2024) |
Overall ratings: HIGH (aligned on 4-5 pillars) | MODERATE (2-3 pillars) | MIXED (split record) | LOW (0-1 pillars / opposed)
THE FOUR DECISIVE COUNCIL VOTES
| Item | Date | Motion | Result | Key Dissenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC7.7 | Nov 8, 2023 | HSCIS adoption — build 20 permanent shelters | 22-1 ✅ | Holyday (sole No) |
| EX9.3 | Nov 8, 2023 | HousingTO expansion to 65,000 homes | 24-1 ✅ | Holyday (sole No) |
| EC13.8 | June 27, 2024 | Encampment strategy — people-first protocol | 21-2 ✅ | Bradford + Holyday |
| PH23.3 | July 24, 2025 | Advance 6 HSCIS shelter sites | 22-3 ✅ | Bradford + Holyday + Pasternak |
A 2021 precedent, found via Task S's TMMIS sweep, July 2, 2026 — extends this pattern two years earlier than any other confirmed instance. At the same meeting where Council formally reiterated "its commitment to taking a housing first and human rights approach," Councillor Holyday moved a competing, carried amendment: "City Council adopt a goal of zero encampments." Councillor Joe Cressy moved a separate carried amendment at the same meeting: "City Council adopt a goal of ending chronic homelessness." ✅ [City of Toronto Council, direct primary source, item 2021.CC34.1: https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2021.CC34.1] Both amendments carried at the same meeting — not a vote Holyday lost, but two different councillors successfully attaching two different framings to the same underlying motion. This is qualitatively different from the dissent pattern in the four rows above (a losing "No" vote) — it's an early, on-the-record instance of Holyday advancing an enforcement-first framing successfully, three to four years before the pattern this table otherwise documents. Worth noting precisely: this doesn't extend the "sole dissenter" streak itself (this wasn't a dissent), but it does establish Holyday's specific policy position — "zero encampments" as the stated goal, distinct from "ending chronic homelessness" — as consistent and long-standing, not a recent development.
Source: City of Toronto official council voting records; corroborated by CBC Toronto, TorontoToday, Progress Toronto
MAYORAL RACE
Olivia Chow — Incumbent Mayor (seeking re-election)
Background: Mayor since June 2023 by-election; former MP (2006-2014); lifelong housing advocate.
Housing/Homelessness platform: - Champions HSCIS as her signature capital program ("This 10-year infrastructure strategy for shelters will allow the City to stabilize its emergency accommodations") - Led the 2024 people-first encampment protocol (EC13.8) - Primary City voice on COHB restoration — her Sept 26, 2025 letter to the Province documented the cliff: "$7.95M for 2026 vs $19.75M for 2025 and $38M for 2024" and demanded restoration to $54M (enabling 300 households/month to exit shelter) - Advocates for permanent provincial funding on IHAP and refugee claimant costs - Removed Brad Bradford from Planning & Housing Committee Dec 16, 2024
Key statements: - "You can't jail your way out of a homelessness crisis." - "There are 15,000 people who are homeless in Toronto… and the city only has capacity to house 12,000 of them." (PH23.3 meeting, July 24, 2025) - "COHB [is] the single most effective tool we have for freeing up beds in our shelter system so that more people can come indoors from streets and parks." (Sept 26, 2025 letter)
Five-pillar score: P1✅ P2✅ P3✅ P4✅ P5✅ — HOUSING ACCOUNTABILITY: HIGH
Brad Bradford — Challenger (ex-Ward 19 Beaches-East York)
Background: Urban planner; councillor 2018-2026; removed from Planning & Housing Committee Dec 2024; 8th in 2023 mayoral race; not re-standing for W19.
Housing/Homelessness platform: - Campaign framing: "Crime, Congestion, and Cost" — frames encampments as public safety failures - Website: "Parks that have become tent cities, unsafe for children and pets" - Original proposal: encampment clearing within 48 hours when within 200m of schools/playgrounds (MM34.4) — corrected a second time, July 2, 2026 — the first correction here (framing this as "narrowed to 50m") was itself wrong, caught by checking the official Council Decision text directly rather than trusting the earlier fix. The 200-metre scope was never removed. What Councillor Fletcher's carried amendment actually did: changed the timeline from 48 to 24 hours, and added a 50-metre prioritization tier — encampments within 200m are addressed on the 24-hour timeline, with those within the closer 50m treated as highest priority. Both numbers are part of the same adopted policy; it's a two-tier structure, not a boundary that shrank from 200m to 50m. Passed November 12-13, 2025. - No documented support for COHB, OW advocacy, or Housing First
Key votes: - EC7.7 (Nov 2023): Yes ✅ (supports HSCIS in principle) - EC13.8 (June 2024): No ❌ — one of two dissenters on people-first encampment protocol - PH23.3 (July 2025): No ❌ on final item; moved (lost) to strip Third St site entirely; "voted against every single shelter" — Progress Toronto ✅
Five-pillar score: P1❌ P2❌ P3❌ P4❌ P5⚠️/❌ — HOUSING ACCOUNTABILITY: LOW/OPPOSED
THE SEVEN HSCIS SHELTER-SITE WARDS — FULL PROFILES
Ward 2 — Etobicoke Centre | 3838 Bloor St W (women's shelter, 2029)
Stephen Holyday — Incumbent councillor (2014-present); not yet re-registered ⚠️ - The most consistent housing/shelter opponent on Council — sole or joint dissenter on all four major tracked votes - EX9.3 (HousingTO 65K target): No ❌ — sole dissenter on 24-1 vote - EC7.7 (HSCIS adoption): No ❌ — sole dissenter on 22-1 vote - EC13.8 (encampment protocol): No ❌ — one of two dissenters - PH23.3 (shelter sites): No ❌ — voted against every site; moved (lost) to reopen process 7-18 - Self-described fiscal conservative; opposes multi-unit housing in single-family neighbourhoods - No documented COHB, OW, or Housing First support - Five-pillar: ALL OPPOSED. ACCOUNTABILITY: LOW — 4-for-4 dissent record, the cleanest accountability contrast of any incumbent in this library
Jennifer Alexander — Challenger ⚠️ Housing position undocumented
Ward 3 — Etobicoke-Lakeshore | 66 Third St (seniors shelter, 2028-30)
Amber Morley — Deputy Mayor; incumbent (2022-present); not yet re-registered ⚠️ - Backed seniors shelter publicly: "I support the creation of a shelter at this site, which will serve unhoused seniors. I am working to ensure it is thoughtfully designed, responsibly operated, and shaped by the input of Etobicoke-Lakeshore residents" - Notes only one 40-bed women's shelter currently exists in the ward - EC7.7: Yes ✅ | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3: Yes ✅ - Named in $1M resident lawsuit over site selection; maintains support - Advocates Housing First "across the full housing spectrum" - Five-pillar: P1✅ P2⚠️ P3✅ P4✅ P5✅ — ACCOUNTABILITY: HIGH
Ward 6 — York Centre | 1220 Wilson Ave (illness recovery shelter, 2028-30)
James Pasternak — Incumbent (2010-present); re-registered ✅ - Supports HSCIS in principle but opposed local site - EC7.7: Yes ✅ | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3 final: No ❌; voted No on Wilson Ave site - Framing: "This is a zoning issue… just because some Members say the site is not right doesn't mean that they do not want to support the homeless" - High-value pressure target: gap between stated HSCIS support and actual local site vote - Five-pillar: P1⚠️ P2⚠️ P3⚠️ P4⚠️ P5 MIXED — ACCOUNTABILITY: MIXED
Irving Conroy — Challenger ⚠️ Housing position undocumented
Ward 8 — Eglinton-Lawrence | 2204-2212 Eglinton Ave W (adult shelter, 2028-30)
Mike Colle — Deputy Mayor for North York; incumbent (2018-present); re-registered ✅ - History of voicing community safety concerns but voting Yes - 2020 (on earlier midtown shelter controversy): "This has been a total screw-up, a total lack of communication, of informing people" - EC7.7: Yes ✅ | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3: Yes ✅ — despite organized community petitions against Eglinton site - Five-pillar: P1⚠️ P2⚠️ P3⚠️ P4⚠️ P5✅ — ACCOUNTABILITY: MODERATE-HIGH
Challengers: Jason McDonald, Enzo Torrone, Daniel Trayes ⚠️ Housing positions undocumented
Ward 9 — Davenport | 1615 Dufferin St (youth shelter, 2027)
Alejandra Bravo — Chair, Economic & Community Development Committee; incumbent (2022-present); not yet re-registered ⚠️ - Among Council's strongest Housing First voices - Backed Dufferin youth shelter: "It's critical that youth have access to a safe roof over their head… Davenport is a place where we take care of one another" - Architected people-first encampment protocol (EC13.8) - On COHB: Toronto "immediately needs the provincial government to flow funds from the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which would allow for people to leave the shelter for a permanent home" - EC7.7: Yes ✅ | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3: Yes ✅ - Five-pillar: P1✅ P2✅ P3✅ P4✅ P5✅ — ACCOUNTABILITY: HIGH
No challengers confirmed at compile date ⚠️
Ward 18 — Willowdale | 68 Sheppard Ave W (Indigenous women's shelter, 2028-30)
Lily Cheng — Incumbent (2022-present); not yet re-registered ⚠️ - Welcomed Indigenous women's shelter: "In the past, shelters sometimes exist like islands within our community… we really need the community to be involved" - Posts careful, sympathetic encampment-response explainers - Opposed Cummer Ave supportive housing site (2022) on location/size grounds - EC7.7: Yes ✅ | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3: Yes ✅ - Five-pillar: P1⚠️ P2⚠️ P3⚠️ P4⚠️ P5✅ — ACCOUNTABILITY: MODERATE-HIGH
Natik Yusifov — Challenger ⚠️ Housing position undocumented
Ward 20 — Scarborough Southwest | 2535 Gerrard St E (adult shelter, 2027)
Parthi Kandavel — Incumbent (by-election Nov 30, 2023); not yet re-registered ⚠️ - Self-described progressive but opposed both Scarborough-adjacent sites - EC7.7: Not yet elected | EC13.8: Yes ✅ | PH23.3 final: Yes ✅ but voted No on 2535 Gerrard and 1220 Wilson sites - Framing: "A lot of folks in Scarborough feel like the city is dumping on Scarborough again… Where we place them is the question" - High-value pressure target: supports HSCIS overall but voted against the shelter in his own ward - Five-pillar: P1⚠️ P2⚠️ P3⚠️ P4⚠️ P5 MIXED — ACCOUNTABILITY: MIXED
Challengers: Malik Ahmad, Ariel-Rachel Karokis, Philip Mills, Sharmina Nasrin, Mohammad Ali Reza ⚠️
ALL OTHER WARDS — SNAPSHOT PROFILES
| Ward | Incumbent | EC7.7 | EC13.8 | PH23.3 | Notes | Accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1 Etobicoke North | Vincent Crisanti | — absent | absent | No on some sites | "Ford loyalist" label; absent key votes | LOW-MIXED |
| W4 Parkdale-HP (OPEN) | Gord Perks retiring | — | — | — | Champion challenger: Diana Chan McNally (housing/harm-reduction; credited $54M prov + $143M fed) | N/A |
| W5 York South-Weston | Frances Nunziata (Speaker + Planning & Housing Vice-Chair — dual role confirmed, see REF_002_Sources) | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | Specific votes on these 3 items genuinely unconfirmed (distinct from her confirmed dual role); Challenger Chiara Padovani (tenant advocate) is strongly pro-housing | MIXED/⚠️ |
| W7 Humber River-Black Creek | Anthony Perruzza | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | No on Wilson Rec7 | Mixed record | MIXED |
| W10 Spadina-Fort York | Ausma Malik | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Statutory Deputy Mayor; strong pro-housing votes | HIGH |
| W11 University-Rosedale | Dianne Saxe | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | On COHB/refugee: "City cannot keep picking up the bill for federal problems" | HIGH |
| W12 Toronto-St. Paul's | Josh Matlow | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Pro-housing votes | HIGH |
| W13 Toronto Centre | Chris Moise | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Oversaw Allan Gardens — 98 housed, 433 referred | HIGH |
| W14 Toronto-Danforth | Paula Fletcher | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Authored the carried MM34.4 amendment (added the 50m prioritization tier, shortened 48hr→24hr — a mixed effect, not simply "softened," since the timeline tightened even as language changed from "prioritize" to "initiate") | HIGH |
| W15 Don Valley West | Rachel Chernos Lin | N/A (elected 2024) | N/A | ✅ | Pro-housing PH23.3 vote | HIGH |
| W16 Don Valley East | Jon Burnside | ✅ | No on micro-shelter | Mixed | Yes on PH23.3 final but opposed Moise micro-shelter motion | MODERATE |
| W17 Don Valley North | Shelley Carroll | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Budget Chair; strong record | HIGH |
| W19 Beaches-EY (OPEN) | Bradford running for mayor | — | — | — | ⚠️ Field undocumented on housing | N/A |
| W21 Scarborough Centre | Michael Thompson | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Yes on all key votes | HIGH |
| W22 Scarborough-Agincourt | Nick Mantas | — absent | absent | ⚠️ | Absent key votes | ⚠️ |
| W23 Scarborough North | Jamaal Myers | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | TTC Chair; moved affordable housing motion MM32.5 | HIGH |
| W24 Scarborough-Guildwood | Paul Ainslie | absent EC7.7 | ✅ | ✅ | Mixed | MODERATE-HIGH |
| W25 Scarborough-Rouge Park | Neethan Shan | N/A (by-election 2025) | N/A | ⚠️ | Not yet re-registered | ⚠️ |
PRO-HOUSING CHALLENGERS TO WATCH
| Candidate | Ward | Why Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Diana Chan McNally | Ward 4 (Parkdale-High Park OPEN) | Housing/harm-reduction advocate; City Housing Rights Advisory; credited $54M prov + $143M fed funding wins |
| Chiara Padovani | Ward 5 (York South-Weston) | Tenant advocate, York South-Weston Tenants Union; lost 2022 by 94 votes; strongly pro-housing |
| Curran Stikuts | Ward 13 (Toronto Centre) | Ex-The 519 advocacy director; strong housing/LGBTQ+ homelessness record |
| Nicki Ward | Ward 13 (Toronto Centre) | Former president of largest housing co-op in Canada |
MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS
- Re-scrape after August 21, 2026 (nomination close)
- ~~Confirm EX9.3 vote tally~~ — done, 24-1 confirmed (see table above) — remove this line once a future pass reads it
- Update all ⚠️ housing positions as candidates publish platforms (Aug-Oct 2026)
- Confirm Frances Nunziata's and Nick Mantas's specific voting records on EC7.7/EC13.8/PH23.3 — currently genuinely unconfirmed (note: Nunziata's dual role as Speaker + Planning & Housing Vice-Chair is separately confirmed in MAIN_REF_002_Sources — that is not the same fact as her vote record on these three items, which remains open)
- Cross-reference with DERIV-003 questionnaire responses as they come in
- Score adjustments: positive for public COHB/$54M endorsement; negative for encampment clearance-first positions
Pairs with: DERIV-003 (Election Toolkit), DERIV-008 (Ward Tracker), DERIV-010 (Five Facts)