Toronto Votes 2026: Toronto-Danforth councillor candidate Christiane Tetreault profile

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Local voters will cast their ballots on Monday, Oct. 26, in Toronto’s municipal election. Along with voting for mayor and school trustee, local voters will also be electing a new councillor for Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth.
There are 18 candidates running for the council seat in Toronto-Danforth. The seat is open as incumbent councillor Paula Fletcher announcd in August that she was stepping down after representing the area for the last 23 years. For this Candidate Profile feature, Beach Metro Community News reached out to the candidates who we could find contact information for and asked them to send their profile and a photo in by a set deadline. We are only printing the profiles of those who responded by the deadline. The 18 candidates registered to run for councillor in Toronto-Danforth in this month’s municipal election are Maqsood Ahmad, Susan Chapelle, Michael Connor, Dennis Corcoran, Robb Dagenais, Peter De Marco, Sara Ehrhardt, George Fawcett, Mary Fragedakis, John Kladitis, Michael Mitchell, Caryma Sa’d, Dianne Saxe, Devyn Stackhouse, Jason Stevens, Christiane Tetreault, Maria Voutsinas and Denise Walcott.)

I have called Ward 14 home for 20 years. I’m running for City Councillor because I believe our community needs someone who will listen to residents, understand the challenges facing local businesses and, most importantly, follow through.

My experience in community leadership has been hands-on. In 2014, I opened my Leslieville business and joined the Leslieville BIA volunteer Board of Management. In 2019, I became Chair, a role I continue to hold today. A BIA is a local board of the City of Toronto, so this work has given me more than a decade of direct experience working within Toronto’s municipal framework.

I have helped lead a BIA representing more than 200 businesses, overseeing staff, budgets and long-term planning. But the most important part of the job has been advocacy—showing up when residents and businesses need someone at the table. I have worked with Metrolinx, the TTC, developers, City staff and Community Liaison Committees on issues ranging from construction, traffic and parking to noise, vibration, dust and neighbourhood disruption. I have advocated for businesses dealing with prolonged construction and congestion and worked directly with residents on community safety concerns.

During COVID, when my own event venue was shut down for three years, I created The Holiday Shop, an outdoor retail kiosk that gave 25 small businesses an opportunity to sell their products and employed five people at a time when indoor shopping wasn’t permitted. I believe leadership means finding solutions—not simply identifying problems.

I have also spent years creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs through community events, including the Leslieville Christmas Market, which has grown into a major holiday event supporting more than 120 vendors and thousands of attendees.

I’m running because Ward 14 is changing rapidly, and I believe we need practical, experienced leadership to manage that change. We need to reduce congestion, reconnect the East End, make transit safer and cleaner, coordinate construction, support small businesses and ensure infrastructure keeps pace with growth.

I’m not running because I want a title. I’m running because after 20 years of living, working and volunteering in this community, I care deeply about where Ward 14 is headed – and I believe I can make it work better.