All wards/Ward 11

City Council · Ward 11

University-Rosedale

9
Candidates registered
29
Days until polls open
Mon, Oct 26
Election day

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?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Yes
  • Karina Lemke
    No

    We have enough housing approved to last us beyond 2051.

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?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Yes
  • Karina Lemke
    Yes

    Currently shelters are not meeting the needs of people who are unhoused. This issue is acute for women fleeing domestic violence, who cannot find safety in the current system.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Yes
  • Karina Lemke
    Yes

    Following the data, weekday car travel is coming in from the GTHA. Instead of creating chaos on roads with red lanes, a NY style toll system (and better transit) would be a better solution.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    No
  • Karina Lemke
    Yes

    Toronto is too dependent on developer money to solve all problems. This needs to be a better collaboration with government and developers so that decisions are the best, not the most desperate solutions.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Yes
  • Karina Lemke
    Yes

    Shockingly, many plans and budgets across City Hall do not have assigned goals.

Public safety and public space

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Lighting, maintenance, sanitation and active use of streets and parks
  • Karina Lemke
    Police, bylaw enforcement and a more visible official presence

    This answer does not minimize the major flaw in crisis and mental health support, same for the failure of public space management.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Decrease after inflation, with some responsibilities and funding transferred to civilian services
  • Karina Lemke
    Increase above inflation to expand police staffing or services

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Establish citywide limits on access, retention, auditing and data sharing
  • Karina Lemke
    Restrict their use to narrowly authorized investigations

Transit and transportation

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    New rapid-transit lines and extensions
  • Karina Lemke
    More frequent and reliable service on existing routes

    The TTC needs to be held accountable for its failures, and should not make it the responsibility of everyone else. It's their fault vehicles are unreliable, not the lack of a rapid bus/ streetcar (in most areas).

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Transit, walking and cycling
  • Karina Lemke
    Deliveries, trades, emergency vehicles and accessibility

    These are not real answers. We are an ageing pop, the TTC is not 100% accessible, Wheel-Trans isn't easy to access. The focus on parking for customers minimizes the fact that farmers need to deliver eggs to restaurants and stores, and need loading and parking to do so; that mobility challenges exist

Housing and growth

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Build or finance substantially more affordable and supportive housing
  • Karina Lemke
    Build or finance substantially more affordable and supportive housing

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Focus primarily on permitting enough housing and reducing barriers to construction
  • Karina Lemke
    Supply land, funding and incentives to non-profit and private providers

    I recognize this is a build friendly survey, but not all developers are equally ethical, nor are they all good partners. Yes there are too many layers and restrictions (in some places), but a better working relationship that has a vision at the center need to be established for the good of Toronto.

Where should Toronto permit the greatest increase in housing density?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Permit more apartments and multiplexes in nearly every neighbourhood
  • Karina Lemke
    Concentrate most growth downtown and in existing growth centres

    Tricky. Yes growth should occur near transit. Not the scale being permitted, and not based on a future idea of transit. Yes there should be low-rise/ multiplexes in neighbourhoods, not necessarily apartments. Creating rapid transit at the cost of culture will ruin this city.

City government and service delivery

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Expand as-of-right zoning and automate routine permits
  • Karina Lemke
    Expand as-of-right zoning and automate routine permits

    These are all undesirable answers and only benefit developers. I selected the best of the worst.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Strengthen professional project management, procurement and contracting
  • Karina Lemke
    Start fewer projects and fully fund them before construction begins

    There are so many empty buildings that could have kept rental businesses active for longer.

Which service-delivery model should Toronto use more often?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Expand permanent city staff and internal operational capacity
  • Karina Lemke
    Use competitive contracts and outside providers where they can deliver better value

    This should not be a process that excludes democratic checks.

Taxes, spending and fiscal sustainability

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Grow approximately with inflation and population
  • Karina Lemke
    Grow faster than inflation to improve or expand services

    Something is not working. Basic services are regressing.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Congestion charges, tolls, parking levies and service fees
  • Karina Lemke
    Land-transfer taxes, development charges and taxes on real-estate activity

    Best of worst again. We cannot depend only on development, but we also cannot reduce the contribution developers should be responsible for to increase infrastructure with growth.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Introduce a levy or other recurring source reserved for maintenance
  • Karina Lemke
    Introduce a levy or other recurring source reserved for maintenance

    I hope people are not answering that public land should be sold en masse to private dev. And I hope there isn't a plan to use the same (but repaired) infrastructure for more people.

Governance and representation

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Publicly press for greater authority, revenue and a different fiscal arrangement
  • Karina Lemke
    Align with provincial priorities where doing so secures funding or approvals

    Firm but fair. We need someone who can actually work with Ford, and be a public representative for Canada (see CNN).

Strong mayor powers should be used mainly for:

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    overriding council on zoning and approvals to get homes built
  • Karina Lemke
    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?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Enforcement, public-space management and responses to disorder
  • Karina Lemke
    Transit, roads, parks, waste collection and local infrastructure

    There are 45 towers approved at Spadina and Bloor with only a streetcar update.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Safer, cleaner and better-maintained streets and public spaces
  • Karina Lemke
    Improved fiscal sustainability and service performance

    This encompasses all answers really - If my goal is to have weekly street cleaning, that should be measured on maintenance, financial investment, performance.

Priorities and trade-offs

Over the next council term, Toronto should:

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Expand the protected cycling network, including projects that remove traffic lanes or parking
  • Karina Lemke
    Remove or redesign lanes that fail defined safety, ridership or congestion standards

    Roads need to be planned as a grid. Currently, City Hall politicizes every part of every street. This isn't sustainable. In some areas, people who are not able-bodied are excluded from public life and public space. This is a human rights issue.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Accept significant disruption unless there is an immediate safety threat
  • Karina Lemke
    Keep major roads, transit, hospitals and essential facilities operating

    I believe in the right to protest, but not at the risk of someone's life. The protest can happen 10 ft to the right.

Where should Toronto direct its next major technology investment?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Permits, licences, payments and service requests
  • Karina Lemke
    Public data and systems that measure outcomes and hold departments accountable

    Many audits are needed.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Reduce or redesign lower-priority services
  • Karina Lemke
    Reduce internal administration, staffing or contract costs

    If we agree there are too many layers of approval - there are too many people in those layers.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Expand housing, transportation, public safety and infrastructure
  • Karina Lemke
    Reduce commercial taxes, fees and licensing expenses

    They of course are interconnected, but the battle to succeed as a small business keeps getting harder. SMEs account for ~50% of Canada's GDP.

How should Toronto attract major employers, investment and events?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Housing affordability, transportation, safety and quality of life
  • Karina Lemke
    Concentrate resources on a small number of industries where Toronto has an existing advantage

    We have to win somewhere. But seriously, employers do not want to bring business to a drug den. Many factors are at play here.

What should Toronto prioritize to increase construction capacity?

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Maintain a stable, long-term pipeline of public projects
  • Karina Lemke
    Maintain a stable, long-term pipeline of public projects

    Tough again. But predictability allows management of the next two points.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Cleanliness, roads, sidewalks, snow clearing, washrooms and routine park care
  • Karina Lemke
    Cleanliness, roads, sidewalks, snow clearing, washrooms and routine park care

    We need to get the basics right. It's embarrassing.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Simpler permits, flexible operating rules and later hours
  • Karina Lemke
    Planning and property measures that preserve existing venues and workspaces

    The City is about to destroy Chinatown, Little Italy, Portugal, Queen West. The plan to add transit priority on these streets will see the closure of 100s of cultural businesses. See: Little Jamaica. We cannot develop on top of what makes Toronto, Toronto.

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

2 of 9 candidates responded

  • Keenan Courtis
    Mandatory reporting on trips, collisions, congestion and curb use
  • Karina Lemke
    Accessibility, geographic coverage and minimum service standards

    None of these are my first choice. No autonomous taxi service has met regulatory standards, just peer reviews. Major red flag to jump to any of these.

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

Downtown's western and northern core, from Kensington-Chinatown and Palmerston-Little Italy up through the Annex and the University of Toronto's campus to Rosedale-Moore Park. It holds two very different housing markets at once: student and rental housing around the university, and some of the oldest and most expensive houses in Toronto a short walk north. Nearly half of its renter households spend 30 per cent or more of their income on housing.

102,385
Population

+1.9% since 2016 · 2,761,285 citywide

7,528
Residents per km²

13.6 km² of land

$84,000
Median household income

$84,000 citywide

56.9%
Renter households

$1,976 average monthly rent · 48.1% citywide

48.8%
Renters spending 30%+ of income on housing

40.0% citywide

51.1%
Homes in buildings of five storeys or more

7.8% single-detached · 46.7% citywide

33.9%
Residents born outside Canada

46.6% citywide

15.3%
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 10
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