Scarborough North

Scarborough North, a riding in Toronto’s eastern suburbs that includes the neighbourhoods of Malvern, Milliken, and Agincourt North, had been represented by Progressive Conservative MPP Raymond Cho since the 2018 election. Cho had previously represented the neighbouring riding of Scarborough—Rouge River after winning a 2016 by-election. Appointed as Minister of Seniors and Accessibility upon the formation of the Ford government in 2018, Cho held the portfolio throughout the entire first term. At eighty-five years old heading into the 2022 election, he was the oldest sitting member of the Ontario Legislature. The riding is one of the most ethnically diverse in the province, with substantial Chinese, South Asian, Tamil, and Filipino communities.

Seven candidates entered the race, with the primary contest between the PC incumbent and the Liberal and NDP challengers.

Candidates

Raymond Cho (Progressive Conservative) — Cho was born in Incheon, South Korea, in 1936 and immigrated to Canada in 1967, where he worked as a dishwasher, asbestos miner, hospital janitor, and bait-worm harvester. He later pursued a career as a social worker with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society. First elected as a Metro Toronto councillor in 1991, he served on Toronto City Council for over two decades after amalgamation, winning re-election eight times before resigning in 2016 to enter provincial politics. He was the first Korean-born member of the Ontario Legislature.

Anita Anandarajan (Liberal) — Anandarajan is a recruitment consultant who graduated from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Science and holds a post-graduate certification in human resources management. She worked in recruitment in Scarborough North, supporting residents with employment opportunities.

Justin Kong (NDP) — Kong served as executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council’s Toronto Chapter, where he led initiatives to combat anti-Asian racism during the pandemic, advance workers’ rights, and support small immigrant-owned businesses.

Tara McMahon (Green Party), James Bountrogiannis (New Blue Party), Pete Grusys (Ontario Party), and Mark Dickson (None of the Above Direct Democracy Party) also contested the riding.

Local Issues

Seniors’ care and long-term care were particularly salient issues in Scarborough North, given Cho’s role as Minister of Seniors and Accessibility and the riding’s significant elderly population. The province invested over 900,000 dollars in projects across Scarborough to connect long-term care residents with complex medical needs, such as dementia and bariatric care, to specialized supports within their facilities rather than requiring hospital transfers. The Ford government’s commitment to increasing the average daily direct care time to four hours per resident by March 2025 was a key promise, but critics argued that staffing shortages and working conditions in long-term care homes made meeting that target difficult.

Public transit was a significant concern for residents of Scarborough North. The riding’s northern neighbourhoods, including Malvern, were among the most transit-underserved areas in Toronto. Residents relied heavily on bus connections for long commutes to the subway, and the planned Eglinton East LRT extension to Malvern Town Centre offered the prospect of improved service but remained years from completion.

Healthcare access and the broader healthcare worker shortage affected the riding during the 2018–2022 term. Transportation barriers to healthcare were not evenly distributed, with elderly residents, people with disabilities, and public transit users facing the greatest challenges in reaching medical appointments. The shortage of family physicians across Scarborough left many residents dependent on overcrowded emergency departments, a problem that the pandemic intensified. Anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic was also a concern in the riding, where many residents of East Asian descent reported increased incidents of harassment and discrimination.