Taiaiako'n--Parkdale--High Park

Taiaiako'n--Parkdale--High Park is a federal riding in Toronto's west end, renamed under the 2022 redistribution to incorporate "Taiaiako'n," the Kanien'keha (Mohawk) word for the Toronto region. The riding spans from the lakefront neighbourhoods of Parkdale and Swansea northward through Roncesvalles Village and the residential streets surrounding High Park, one of Toronto's largest urban green spaces. The constituency is one of the most culturally diverse in the city, home to Little Tibet -- the largest Tibetan diaspora community in North America -- as well as established Polish, South Asian, and East African communities. The seat was previously held by NDP MP Peggy Nash and later by Liberal Arif Virani, who served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Under Mark Carney's leadership, the Liberals nominated policy expert Karim Bardeesy for the 2025 election.

Candidates

Karim Bardeesy (Liberal) is the newly elected MP for the riding. An Ismaili Canadian, Bardeesy holds a BA from McGill University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School. He began his career as a legislative assistant at Queen's Park and went on to work as a journalist at Slate and the Globe and Mail. He later held senior policy roles in the Ontario government, serving as Executive Director of Policy under Premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne and as Deputy Principal Secretary to Premier Wynne. He was also an instructor in public policy at the University of Toronto and the founding executive director of The Dais, a public policy think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Bhutila Karpoche (NDP) is the first person of Tibetan descent elected to public office in North America. An epidemiologist and community organizer who grew up in Parkdale's Little Tibet, Karpoche served as the Ontario NDP member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale--High Park from 2018 to 2025, winning both the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections with over 50 percent of the vote. She was voted Toronto's Best MPP by NOW Magazine readers for three consecutive years. She resigned her provincial seat in 2024 to seek the federal NDP nomination.

Wladyslaw Lizon (Conservative) is a Polish Canadian businessman and former Conservative MP for Mississauga East--Cooksville from 2011 to 2015. An engineer by training, Lizon holds a master's degree in mining engineering from AGH University in Krakow, Poland, and founded Gomark Enterprises, a consulting firm, after immigrating to Canada in 1988. He previously served as president of the Canadian Polish Congress.

Anna Gorka (Green Party) is an architect and community organizer whose family emigrated from Poland to Parkdale in 1982. She holds a degree in architecture from the University of Toronto and apprenticed under urban planner Paolo Soleri. She has run for the Greens in multiple provincial and federal elections.

Edward Fraser (Animal Protection Party) ran for the Animal Protection Party of Canada.

Rimmy Riarh (Communist) ran for the Communist Party of Canada.

About the Riding

Parkdale has undergone significant gentrification over the past two decades, transforming from a neighbourhood of rooming houses and social housing into an increasingly sought-after address for young professionals. This transformation has been a source of both renewal and tension, as rising rents and condo conversions have displaced many long-term residents, including members of the Tibetan, South Asian, and East African communities that have defined the neighbourhood's identity. Affordable housing and tenant protections were central issues in the 2025 campaign.

High Park and the Roncesvalles corridor, by contrast, are established residential areas with a strong sense of neighbourhood character. Roncesvalles Village, historically known as Little Poland, features independent shops and a vibrant streetcar-served main street. High Park itself is a major amenity that shapes the riding's livability and environmental politics.

The 2025 race was one of Toronto's most closely watched, framed as a progressive-versus-progressive battle between Bardeesy and Karpoche. Despite the NDP's strong provincial presence in the neighbourhood and Karpoche's personal popularity, the federal Liberal brand under Mark Carney proved dominant, and Bardeesy won by a decisive margin. The contest highlighted the difficulty the federal NDP faced in converting provincial support into federal votes during a campaign shaped by national security and trade concerns.