Scarborough North

Scarborough North, encompassing the neighbourhoods of Malvern, Milliken, and Agincourt North in Toronto's eastern suburbs, went to the polls with Raymond Cho seeking a fourth term as Progressive Conservative MPP. At eighty-eight years old, Cho was the oldest sitting member of the Ontario Legislature and held the distinction of being the oldest cabinet minister in the province's history, having served as Minister for Seniors and Accessibility since the formation of the Ford government in 2018. He retained the portfolio throughout both terms. Before entering provincial politics via a 2016 by-election, Cho had served on Toronto City Council for over two decades. The riding is among the most ethnically diverse in Ontario, with substantial Chinese, South Asian, Tamil, and Filipino communities.

Four candidates contested the riding, a notably small field.

Candidates

Raymond Cho (Progressive Conservative) — Cho was born in Incheon, South Korea, in 1936 and immigrated to Canada in 1967, working as a dishwasher, miner, and janitor before studying at the University of Toronto and pursuing a career in social work. He was first elected as a Metro Toronto councillor in 1991 and served in municipal government for over two decades. He became the first Korean-born member of the Ontario Legislature when he won a 2016 by-election. He has served as Minister for Seniors and Accessibility since 2018.

Anita Anandarajan (Liberal) — Anandarajan, also the Liberal candidate in 2022, was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and has lived in Scarborough for over thirty years. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Ottawa and a post-graduate certification in human resources management. Her career has focused on helping newcomers, people with disabilities, and recent graduates find employment.

Thadsha Navaneethan (NDP) — Navaneethan arrived in Scarborough as a child refugee from Sri Lanka with her family. She has worked in the non-profit sector, managing the Malvern Family Resource Centre and leading diversity and equity initiatives at organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society and the Jane and Finch Community Centre. She has received recognition for her work advancing equity.

Zdravko Gunjevic (Green Party) also ran.

Local Issues

Seniors' care remained a particularly salient issue in Scarborough North, given Cho's role as Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. The Ford government's commitment to increasing average daily direct care in long-term care homes to four hours per resident faced scrutiny as staffing shortages and recruitment challenges made meeting the target difficult. The riding has a significant elderly population, and concerns about the quality and availability of long-term care beds persisted throughout the 2022–2025 term.

Public transit was a longstanding frustration for residents of the riding's northern neighbourhoods, particularly Malvern, which remained one of the most transit-underserved areas in Toronto. The permanent closure of Line 3 in the summer of 2023 did not directly serve the riding, but its ripple effects on Scarborough's broader bus network were felt by commuters across the area. The Scarborough Subway Extension under construction promised improved connectivity in the longer term, but the proposed Eglinton East LRT extension to Malvern Town Centre, which would most directly benefit the riding's residents, had not advanced to construction during the term.

The family physician shortage affected Scarborough North acutely. With one of the lowest ratios of primary care providers per capita in the province, many residents—particularly elderly community members and newcomers—relied on emergency departments for care they could not access through a family doctor. The province-wide shortage worsened during the term, with the total number of Ontarians lacking a family physician climbing toward 2.5 million. Transportation barriers to healthcare also disproportionately affected seniors and residents with disabilities in the riding.