| Ward 21 Scarborough Centre | |
|---|---|
| Constituency for the Toronto City Council | |
 Location of Ward 21 in Toronto | |
| City | Toronto |
| Population | 111,560 (2021) |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2018 |
| Councillor | Michael Thompson |
| First contested | 2018 election |
| Last contested | 2022 election |
| Ward profile | www |
Ward 21 Scarborough Centre is a municipal electoral division in Toronto, Ontario, for the Toronto City Council. It was last contested in the 2022 municipal election, with Michael Thompson elected councillor. [1]
On August 14, 2018, the province redrew municipal boundaries via the Better Local Government Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 11 - Bill 5. [2] This means that the 25 Provincial districts and the 25 municipal wards in Toronto currently share the same geographic borders.
Defined in legislation as: "Consisting of that part of the City of Toronto described as follows: commencing at the intersection of the northerly limit of said city with Midland Avenue; thence southerly along said avenue to Highway No. 401; thence westerly along said highway to Victoria Park Avenue; thence northerly along said avenue to the northerly limit of the City of Toronto; thence easterly along said limit to the point of commencement." [3]
Toronto municipal ward boundaries were significantly modified in 2018, passing through three models (44-ward, 47-ward, and 25-ward). Ultimately, for the purposes of administering the 2018 election, the 25-ward structure was used and later upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2021.
From 2014 to 2017, the City of Toronto engaged in a ward boundary review [4] evaluating the city's previous 44-ward model. [5]
Based on this, and in preparation for the 2018 municipal election, the City of Toronto added 3 new wards to create a 47-ward model. [6] This model was in effect at the opening of the 2018 municipal election.
The 2018 Toronto municipal election ran from May 1, 2018, to October 22, 2018, and while underway [7] the provincial government introduced the Better Local Government Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 11 - Bill 5. The act was assented to on August 14, 2018. [2]
The immediate effect of this act was to eliminate all previous ward models, and replace them with a 25-ward model [8] designed to align with the provincial and federal ridings boundaries in effect at that time. [9]
The timing of the boundary change was controversial, and the City of Toronto sued the province contesting the provisions' constitutionality. In the absence of an injunction, and with the pending threat of the province invoking the notwithstanding clause [10] which would defeat any constitutional challenge, the election continued under the 25-ward model. [11]
The nomination period originally scheduled to close on July 27, 2018, was extended to September 14, 2018. [12] This allowed new candidates to run, and existing candidates to either withdraw or to reassign their candidacy to a different constituency. [13]
In a judgment rendered October 1, 2021, [14] the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of the provisions, [15] and the 25-ward model remained in effect for the 2022 Toronto municipal election.
| Council term | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Scarborough Centre (Metro Council) | ||
| 1988–1991 | Brian Harrison | |
| 1991–1994 | ||
| 1994–1997 | ||
| Ward 15 Scarborough City Centre | ||
| 1997–2000 | Lorenzo Berardinetti, Brad Duguid | |
| Ward 37 Scarborough Centre | Ward 38 Scarborough Centre | |
| 2000–2003 | Lorenzo Berardinetti | Brad Duguid |
| 2003–2006 | Michael Thompson | Glenn De Baermaeker |
| 2006–2010 | ||
| 2010–2014 | ||
| 2014–2018 | ||
| Ward 21 Scarborough Centre | ||
| 2018–2022 | Michael Thompson | |
| 2022–2026 | ||
2022 Toronto municipal election
| Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Thompson | 9,977 | 55.25 |
| Muhammad Ayub. | 2,478 | 13.72 |
| Paul Beatty | 1,857 | 10.28 |
| Kiri Vadivelu | 1,800 | 9.97 |
| Hansie Daniel | 1,375 | 7.61 |
| Luigi Lisciandro | 570 | 3.16 |
2018 Toronto municipal election
| Michael Thompson | 16,542 | 69.05% |
| Paul Beatty | 1,638 | 6.84% |
| Fawzi Bidawi | 1,035 | 4.32% |
| Zia Choudhary | 1,014 | 4.23% |
| Vivek Bhatt | 993 | 4.15% |
| Randy Bucao | 949 | 3.96% |
| Raphael Rosch | 545 | 2.28% |
| Zamir ul-Hassan Nadeem | 448 | 1.87% |
| Afran Naveed | 349 | 1.46% |
| Ismail Khan | 311 | 1.30% |
| Nur Saifullah | 132 | 0.55% |