Incumbent councillor Stephen Holyday faces Jennifer Alexander and Katie Andrachuk as voters head to the polls in Toronto's Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre.
Alexander, a local writer who publishes the Substack newsletter The Etobicoke Voice, has worked in community advocacy and non-profit consulting, according to her campaign website.
Andrachuk previously served Etobicoke Centre at City Hall as a constituency and policy advisor, according to her campaign website.
Holyday was first elected in 2014 for the former Ward 3 Etobicoke Centre, then won the reconfigured Ward 2 in 2018, and has represented the ward since.
The Central Etobicoke Community Hub Initiative livestreamed the debate on Oct. 5, where the three council candidates answered questions drawn from a resident survey.
The sharpest exchange at the debate was between Andrachuk and Holyday about road safety.
“Over the last four years, your current representative has voted against every single traffic calming initiative brought forward in Etobicoke Centre,” Andrachuk said.
Holyday pushed back on the claim but did not name specific votes.
“I would invite folks to check the record. I just have to call it out when I see it,” Holyday responded.
Andrachuk said people need safe and practical ways to get around at every stage of life.
“More than one in three people in Etobicoke Centre is either under 15 or over 65. Not everyone can drive, will continue to, or even wants to,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of buses in the ward, and made suggestions for queue-jump lanes and more predictable real-time information at shelters.
Alexander said at the debate that she has been an advocate for pedestrian and road safety for about a decade, and said it's what started her community advocacy.
“Mobility is about independence. If you can't reliably get to a bus, safely cross your street or use a sidewalk to get where you need to go, your independence is affected,” Alexander said in the debate.
She also agreed with Andrachuk that she often hears from residents that the roads are unsafe and transit is unreliable.
In an interview with Humber Et Cetera, Holyday questioned whether bus lanes would improve travel times, citing the loss of a travel lane.
“It implies that you’re removing a travel lane. I have yet to see compelling math to see why that offers an advantage,” he said.
“Issues arise at intersections and other points of delay along the route, rather than the free flowing of traffic,” he added.
Alexander said Etobicoke Centre needs to focus on building a complete community, and making sure growth is planned properly.
“We need affordable, deeply affordable housing. I talk to a lot of young people, and they don’t know if they’ll be able to live here in five or ten years. That we need to fix,” she said.
Andrachuk said the ward needs housing that fits the people who live there.
“We need to build more of what's missing— attractive, neighbourhood-scale apartments with elevators, larger units, good floor plans and good-quality mid-rise housing,” she said.
Holyday said in an interview with Humber Et Cetera that the old Etobicoke Civic Centre is available for other uses.
A new Etobicoke District Civic Centre is being built at Six Points, Holyday said.
“The most circulated conversation has been to convert some of the extra parking lots and parts of that site to housing, under the city's larger housing program,” he said.
Holyday said City Council will have to decide the best use of the old site.
“Community services are geographically spaced out in central Etobicoke, or there are few access points. It creates a situation where some people may be underserved,” he added.
Humber Et Cetera emailed the Alexander and Andrachuk campaigns on Oct. 14 and had not received a reply by publication time.
According to the 2026 Municipal Election List of Certified Candidates, Etobicoke Centre is one of only four wards in the city with three candidates.
Election day is Monday, Oct. 26, and polls are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their voting location on their voter information card or at toronto.ca/elections.
