What you need to know about the race in Ward 2: Etobicoke Centre

A Toronto resident votes in advanced polling for the 2022 municipal election (Scott Lightfoot).

For much of the last 20 years, the ward of Etobicoke Centre has been represented by a member of the Holyday family.

Doug Holyday started as an alderman in 1982 before becoming councillor and then mayor of Etobicoke—the last mayor the region had before the amalgamation of the Greater Toronto Area.

After a brief reprise between 2010 and 2014, the position of city councillor was taken up by Stephen Holyday, Doug’s son. He was named as one of John Tory’s deputy mayors in 2017, and remained in that position through his second term.

Holyday is now hoping residents will give him a third term on Oct. 24.

Etobicoke Centre (Ward 2) is generally bordered by Highway 401 to the north, Dundas Street to the south, the Humber River to the east and Renforth Drive to the west. It’s a relatively new ward, formed in 2018 after the size of Toronto city council was slashed.

Because two wards were merged that year, the race was highly contested. Two incumbents, Holyday and John Campbell, were forced to fight for votes.

Holyday won by just over three percentage points.

This year, he faces off against four other candidates; however none appear to have the same name recognition.

Thomas Yanuziello—a millennial renting in Etobicoke, according to his website—says it’s “time for new leadership and fresh ideas.” Much of his platform involves the reallocation or distribution of funds to tackle issues such as homelessness and climate change, while also building on Etobicoke’s cycling infrastructure.

Catherine Habus ran in the provincial election a few months ago under the New Blue Party of Ontario. Her website says that while canvassing, she heard a lot of residents talk about municipal issues such as crime, recreational programs and snowploughing.

“After eight years of the same leadership, Etobicoke is facing a future of increasing crime and increasing spending. This needs to change,” her website reads.

Other names on the ballot include Maryam Hashimi and Sam Raufi.

Etobicoke Centre at a glance

Population: 118,020

Average number of people per household: 2.58

Median age: 45.2

Population growth over the last decade: 4.6 per cent (Toronto-wide average is 9.1 per cent)

Visible minorities: 27 per cent of population (Toronto-wide average is 51 per cent).

Average household income: $122,448 (Toronto-wide average is $102,721)