Provincial Byelection 2026: Scarborough Southwest Liberal Party candidate Ahsanul Hafiz answers our questions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Beach Metro Community News sent these questions to the seven candidates in this month’s Scarborough Southwest provincial byelection. We gave them a deadline to respond and are publishing the answers from the five candidates who sent them in by the deadline The seven candidates running in the Sept. 3 provincial byelection in Scarborough Southwest are Mark Bekkering of the Green Party; Gord Elliott of the Ontario Party; Ahsanul Hafiz of the Liberal Party; Independent candidate Michael Perdelwitz; Chris Rees of the New Blue Party; Fatima Shaban of the New Democratic Party; and Noor Tarun of the Progressive Conservative Party. Please visit our website at www.beachmetro.com for more information on the candidates.)

QUESTION 1: Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself and why you are running in this byelection?

My name is Ahsanul Hafiz, and I’m proud to be the Ontario Liberal candidate in Scarborough Southwest.

I came to Canada in 2002, studied mathematics at the University of Windsor and went on to build a career in small business. Scarborough Southwest is home. It’s where I live with my wife and our two sons. I also serve on the Board of Directors of Ontario Soccer and as a Vice-President of the Liberal Party of Canada.

When I came to this country, I found opportunity. I was able to get an education, find a good job and build a life for my family. When I came to Scarborough Southwest, our community felt safer, healthcare was easier to access and it felt like people who worked hard could get ahead. For too many families, that promise is slipping away. The cost of living in Toronto has risen dramatically. People are waiting longer for healthcare and struggling to afford the basics.

I had opportunities here, and I’m running because I want the next generation to have those same opportunities. Scarborough Southwest has had the same provincial representation for eight years. I believe it’s time for change and fresh energy to unlock the enormous potential of our community.

QUESTION 2: What do you see as the top local issues that will be on the minds of Scarborough Southwest voters into this provincial byelection?

The issues I hear about most are safety, affordability, healthcare and transit.

People deserve to feel safe in their homes, neighbourhoods and workplaces. Home invasions, auto theft and violent crime have left too many people worried. We need properly resourced police, courts and correctional systems, while investing in young people so they have the structure, opportunities and support to choose a better path.

Affordability is another enormous concern. It costs more than ever to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head. We need to lower costs, cut taxes for working people, create better-paying jobs and encourage more competition so families aren’t constantly paying more for the basics.

Healthcare is also personal for thousands of families here. Nearly one in five people in Scarborough Southwest does not have a family doctor. That pushes people into emergency rooms for care they should be able to receive in their community, while hospitals are already under enormous financial pressure. People are also waiting far too long for surgeries and diagnostic tests.

Finally, people want the Scarborough Subway Extension delivered. Its cost has already grown from roughly $5 billion to $10 billion and the timeline has slipped by years. Scarborough cannot afford another Eglinton Crosstown.

QUESTION 3: With this byelection taking place just a few days before school starts up again, what measures will you and your party take to address concerns regarding public education funding not only across the province but also for the specific and unique needs of schools and students in Toronto?

Every child deserves a great education, and every teacher and education worker deserves the support they need to provide it. Right now, too many Toronto schools are overcrowded, understaffed and in desperate need of repair.

Ontario Liberals have called for 10,000 more adults in schools across the province. That means more teachers to help reduce class sizes, more educational assistants to support students with additional needs, more mental health professionals and more support staff. It would also help address the increasing levels of violence that students and education workers are experiencing in some schools.

We also have to fix the buildings themselves. Ontario’s school repair backlog has grown to roughly $16 billion. Students should not be learning in classrooms with leaking roofs, failing infrastructure and repairs that are continually put off. Toronto also has a particular challenge with extreme heat. Many older schools were never designed for the temperatures we now experience at the beginning and end of the school year. On the hottest days, some classrooms become extremely difficult places to learn and work.

We need a serious plan to repair our schools and expand air conditioning and cooling so students have safe, comfortable classrooms where they can focus on learning.

QUESTION 4: Please let our readers know how you and your party can increase the amount of truly affordable housing in Scarborough Southwest and how it can be built more quickly?

The most important thing we can do to make housing more affordable is build more of it and build it faster. Ontario Liberals have consistently pushed the provincial government to remove unnecessary costs and barriers that make new housing more expensive, so those savings can ultimately reach renters and homeowners.

But simply increasing the overall number of homes is not enough. We need to make sure a meaningful portion of new housing in Toronto and across Ontario is genuinely affordable to the people who live and work in our communities. That means building housing across the spectrum, including deeply affordable and supportive housing.

We should be making it easier for non-profit housing providers to build and expanding social and supportive housing for people who would otherwise be left without a stable place to live. Everyone deserves the dignity and security of a home.

Doing that is also smart public policy. When people experiencing homelessness have stable housing and the supports they need, it reduces pressure on emergency rooms, shelters and other public services.

Scarborough Southwest needs more homes, but we also need the right mix of homes: places that young people, working families, seniors and people on lower incomes can actually afford.