By: Rishika Verma
As the province is approaching closer and closer to Election Day to elect the 44th Members of Provincial Parliament, party leaders have been campaigning across the province to share their election promises to better serve Ontario in the upcoming years.
Ontarians are set to head to the polls on Thursday, Feb. 27 and they will have the choice if they want to participate in the in-person voting or by mail.
Weeks leading up to the big day, party leaders have been pitching their votes and sharing how they will tackle the issues surrounding the province like homelessness, housing, affordability, transportation, health care, education, tariffs, accountability, electric vehicles, and more.
Electoral districts and the candidates
Seneca Polytechnic is located in the Humber River-Black Creek riding, one of the 124 electoral districts in Ontario. The riding begins from the intersection of the northerly limit of Toronto with Keele Street, then going south towards Grandravine Drive, going west to Black Creek. From there, moving to the southeast along the creek to Sheppard Ave. W, going west to Jane Street, and south towards Highway 401, and going west where the electoral district ends at Humber River.
The candidates in the Humber River-Black Creek riding are; NDP's Tom Rakocevic, Green Party of Ontario's Alexander Qanbery, PC Conservatives’ Paul Nguyen, and Liberal Party’s Liban Hassan.
NDP’s Tom Rakocevic has actively been involved in the community for more than 25 years, where he has dedicated most of his life to public service either through volunteering or working as an executive assistant for former city councillor Anthony Perruzza. Through his seven years of being the NDP MPP representative of the Humber River-Black Creek riding, he has been introducing bills and ideas to help deal with the concerns that residents in the area would bring to him.
In this year's provincial election, one of the major issues that he has been bringing up in the election campaign is auto insurance postal code discrimination which is to end high-priced auto insurance and make it more fair as drivers with similar driving records are paying more simply because of their address.
"A number of jurisdictions like cities and locations pay some of the highest rate, not just in the country, but all across North America. I have introduced the bill multiple times and the government actually voted against it," said Rakocevic in an phone interview with S@Y News on Sunday.
Affordability is also another issue that the NDP party is tackling in their election campaign. Rakocevic says that they are pushing for grocery rebates for individuals and families as well as pushing for a consumer watchdog.
"I introduced that [consumer watchdog] bill which would charge the price fixing indulgence that these industries are doing as they collude and are artificially raising the price on a lot of different products," he said.
Another bill that the NDP party would like to introduce is about bringing back rent control. The third-time elected NDP MPP candidate shared that when Ontario had a NDP government in the '90s, there used to be rent control which had then been ripped apart when the Conservatives' had won the election in the late 1990s.
"As rents continue to decline, many families are essentially ending up homeless because what's happening is that there is a huge incentive for landlords to evict tenants for things like renovictions and other means. When tenants are evicted, their rates go up to a huge amount of money, so sometimes it could be doubled from what the last tenant was paying," he said.
Rakocevic says that the rent control bill will aim to support tenants who are spending most of their money on rent, leaving them no money for anything else.
He says with how the province is seeing a huge shortage of family doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who are leaving the health care system because of unstable work conditions, leading to the increasing privatization of the industry itself. The NDP party has been finding ways to fix the province's health care system.
The Humber River-Black Creek has recently gotten a new public long-term care facility and Rakocevic says that the NDP is pushing for more public and non-profit long-term care buildings as well as advocating for more home care to help people who have disabilities or seniors living in their home receive health care assistance that they need.
"We are pushing for a caregiver benefit because many people are taking care of a loved one, and they make huge financial sacrifices to be able to do so. We believe that [caregivers] should be assisted as they do their best for their family members," he said.
GPO’s Alexander Qanbery has a strong commitment to justice, sustainability, and community advocacy. He has a deep passion for housing rights and helping those harmed by financial conduct. He is running for MPP because he wants to ensure that marginalized voices are heard and to build a more equitable Ontario.
Conservatives’ Paul Nguyen has been recognized as community leader for dealing with race, crime, and youth issues in the Jane-Finch area. He is fighting to make life more affordable in the Humber River-Black Creek district by opposing the Liberal carbon tax, reducing the gas tax by 10 per cent, eliminating the license plate sticker fee, prohibiting new road tolls, and supporting the One Fare Program.
Liberal Party's Liban Hassan has been advocating for students, families, and public education as well as advancing the National Housing Strategy, focusing on Indigenous policy development and fostering community engagement to address critical housing and social challenges. He has worked on the frontlines of Toronto’s shelter system, helping homeless people secure housing and access resources.
The local election office for this riding is located on 575 Fenmar Dr, North York where people who want to cast a vote can go to the polling location between the hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in-person votes will be closed on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.
Important voting details:
If you are not sure what electoral district you are a part of, the Elections Ontario website can help you find your local election office all you need to do is put in your postal code.
For those who haven’t applied to vote by mail, keep in mind that the deadline is Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.
Electors who have registered will receive a voter information card in the mail from Feb. 17 to Feb. 22 with information about when and where to vote. When you come to your local election office on election day, remember to bring your voter information card and any piece of accepted ID showing your name.
If you haven’t registered, then you can still participate in the in-person vote but your name may not be in the voter’s list. On the day of casting a vote, you will be required to bring one piece of accepted ID showing your name and current home address.
Last month, Premier Doug Ford had made a bold move by asking the Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the Ontario Legislation and calling for an early election. The sudden push for an election was simply because he wanted a new and strong mandate to handle the four years of U.S President Donald Trump’s presidency. Ontarians weren’t supposed to head to the polls until next year, as the initial date was set to be June 2026.
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