All wards/Ward 24

City Council · Ward 24

Scarborough-Guildwood

6
Candidates registered
29
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 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Yes

    Its needs to fit in with the surrounding neighbourhood. A priority needs to be enhancing housing on our main avenues where public transit is much more readily avaiaalble

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 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Yes

    We need the Provincial and Federal governments to finance the necessary space for people to move in to

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    No

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Yes

    The long advocated share of the gasoline tax is needed

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Yes

Public safety and public space

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Police, bylaw enforcement and a more visible official presence

    You really need a combination of all three to be successful. We need Licensing Officers to be working evening,especially on the weekends.

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Remain approximately constant after inflation

    The Police Services Budget should be increased with inflation

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Allow police and approved organizations to deploy them under existing privacy law

    I'm not clear what "approved organizations" would be?

Transit and transportation

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Vehicles, stations, signals and other state-of-good-repair work

    The TTC has huge state of good repair backlog which needs to be resolved.

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Automobile capacity and curbside parking

    We need a mix of all three for communities to be successful

Housing and growth

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Reduce approval times, development charges and other city-imposed costs

    I have been working to see AI used to speed up the building approval process

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Focus primarily on permitting enough housing and reducing barriers to construction

Where should Toronto permit the greatest increase in housing density?

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    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 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Reduce development charges, parkland payments and related levies

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Strengthen professional project management, procurement and contracting

Which service-delivery model should Toronto use more often?

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Expand permanent city staff and internal operational capacity

    I combination of Direct Delivery and External Delivery would work best

Taxes, spending and fiscal sustainability

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Grow approximately with inflation and population

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Property taxes or new municipal income or sales taxes, if authorized

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Redirect money from new facilities and projects toward existing assets

Governance and representation

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Publicly press for greater authority, revenue and a different fiscal arrangement

    We need to do all three of the above

Strong mayor powers should be used mainly for:

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    setting spending and tax levels without assembling a majority

Your ward and your record

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Transit, roads, parks, waste collection and local infrastructure

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Improved fiscal sustainability and service performance

    When you get improved finances and services, improvements to the public realm are realized as well. People, along with myself want the best value for their tax dollars.

Priorities and trade-offs

Over the next council term, Toronto should:

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Finish approved projects but undertake few additional road reallocations

    I'm a strong believer if cycling routes are to be built they must be part of a connected network and not build in isolation. There is no point saying you built a bike lane or route if it isn't connected to anything else

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Keep major roads, transit, hospitals and essential facilities operating

Where should Toronto direct its next major technology investment?

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Permits, licences, payments and service requests

    A combination of all three would be the best path forward in terms of using technology

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Raise taxes, fees or other revenue

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Reduce commercial taxes, fees and licensing expenses

How should Toronto attract major employers, investment and events?

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Direct financial bids, tax measures or customized agreements

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Cleanliness, roads, sidewalks, snow clearing, washrooms and routine park care

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    Grants, city facilities and affordable cultural space

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

1 of 6 candidates responded

  • Paul Ainslie    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

IncumbentPaul AinslieSeeking re-election

Scarborough between Highland Creek and Bellamy: Woburn, Golfdale-Cedarbrae-Woburn, Morningside, Guildwood and Scarborough Village. About a third of its homes are single-detached and nearly half are in buildings of five storeys or more — the towers along Kingston Road, Eglinton and Markham Road, with subdivisions on the streets behind them. It has one of the lowest shares of rent-burdened tenant households in the city.

102,755
Population

+1.6% since 2016 · 2,761,285 citywide

3,935
Residents per km²

26.1 km² of land

$78,000
Median household income

$84,000 citywide

45.0%
Renter households

$1,197 average monthly rent · 48.1% citywide

31.6%
Renters spending 30%+ of income on housing

40.0% citywide

47.3%
Homes in buildings of five storeys or more

33.7% single-detached · 46.7% citywide

53.4%
Residents born outside Canada

46.6% citywide

14.7%
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 23
Scarborough North
Ward 25
Scarborough-Rouge Park