Created in 2018, the town's newest ward gains voters every day. And that's not going to change for years to come.
As developments fill out the remaining vacant land between Dundas Street and Highway 407, the new community struggles with a range of growing pains.
An astonishing 11 candidates – including several from outside the ward – are offering to help residents deal with challenges ranging from construction dust to traffic to demand more services and facilities.
Nine of those candidates seek to fill the void left by incumbent town councillor Jasvinder Sandhu opting not to seek re-election.
Meanwhile, the race for the town and regional councillor will see a rematch of 2018, which resulted in Pavan Parmar beating out Nav Nanda by only a handful of votes.
The challenge for voters will be to wade through the volume of websites and election materials in the crowded race to identify candidates who understand how to help the ward navigate the growth that will continue to arrive in the coming years.
Dundas Street marks the southern edge of Ward 7, which runs to the town's western and northern boundaries. Eighth Line marks the eastern boundary of the ward.
Each ward elects two councillors. One serves on town council only, in a $53,964 position considered part-time. The other sits on both town and Halton Region council, earning a total salary of about $114,000.
Here are the candidates for both seats, presented in alphabetical order. All live in ward seven unless otherwise noted.
Ward 7 town council candidates
While Kashif Chaudry does not live in Ward 7, he says he is passionate about addressing issues in the ward and thinks he can contribute to resolving them.
A manager in insurance risk management, Chaudry says he understands the value of relationships and has "a proven background of formulating bold ideas and then collaborating with key players to realize collective improvement."
"I have had a long passion for solving problems in my community. Over the years, I have worked closely with numerous organizations serving a diverse range of people. From mentoring minorities and immigrants to working with groups focused on instilling peace and friendship amongst one another, to leading the charge for getting a mental health helpline back on its feet, to being a strategic campaign advisor for a winning councillor in Halton, and, finally,,, to my most passionate cause — supporting a shelter for women-identified and non-binary people who are experiencing abuse and/or homelessness. I have worked tirelessly towards solving a great many issues for a diverse assortment of people.
The three issues most important to me are the issues Ward 7 residents have told me are most important to them i) safety (petty and violent crime, theft), ii) availability of community facilities (libraries, recreational facilities, parks and greenspace - that one goes hand in hand with densification), iii) traffic/parking (volume of traffic, flow and availability of parking spaces)."
Faryal Ghanzanfar says she has extensive experience in customer service for Walmart, Costco and Oakville's drive test centre.
"I enjoy working with people and helping people solve their issues and come up with excellent solutions. Also, I have lived in this ward for almost 10 years."
A software engineer and consultant, Amir Henry also ran for a Ward 7 council seat in 2018.
He says he has volunteered with food charity groups and several committees at St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox church and is a member of the board of directors for the Ward 7 residents association.
"The main point of concern to the residents of ward 7 is clearly the lack of control of development. I advocate for strategic planning to take in consideration the needs of ward 7 residents, which includes the addition of schools, community centers, parks, and trails.
The safety of our community is another main issue for ward 7 residents. Although Oakville is one of the safest towns with a low crime rate, our ward has seen a rise of theft and break-ins, which has increasingly gotten out of hand. I will implement an efficient neighbourhood watch program and coordinate with our police service to increase police presence, specifically at night.
Given Ward 7 is still growing, it requires additional investment in public transit system. I would aim to improve the quality of transit services to residents of North Oakville by increasing frequency, on-time performance and coverage."
Real estate salesperson Shahab Khan says he understands the issues of Ward 7 because he and his extended family live them.
"I live here and want to represent where I live," says Khan, who also sought a Ward 7 council seat in 2018.
He says he understands concerns with traffic, school overcrowding and the ward's lack of infrastructure and has worked over the last six years to help improve the community.
His priorities are a safer community, children and sharing information with residents.
"I will bring together the government federally, provincially and municipally with the police force, with the neighbourhood groups and with our schools to develop a plan to keep Ward 7 safe. Traffic is a big part of having a safe neighbourhood. I will listen to the residents and implement ways to keep our streets safe from speeding and reckless driving.
We do not have enough affordable childcare spaces. Our schools are bursting at the seams with portables taking up the green spaces. We do not have a public or a catholic high school. We need larger schools with state-of-the-art facilities. We need a high school built on time and large enough to accommodate all of our children inside the school and not in portables. Our children need better green space, more playgrounds, more sports facilities.
As your advocate, there will open communication and a transparent town hall. Decisions will not be made without the residents' input. I will provide details of all projects before they start and continuously ask for input. Information will be provided on the new high school, new community centre, sports fields and library. I will continue to secure existing greenspaces and building of new parks; I will keep development checked and inform you of any changes occurring with new projects. Without this information, residents can not feel that town hall is working for them."
A Bronte resident, Gregory Park, says he is running in Ward 7 to bring his 18 years of Oakville experience to people who are newcomers to the town.
But he would like to stop calling it a town. If elected, he says he would initiate a name change to see Oakville become a city. He will also work to establish a walk-in medical clinic, pharmacy and dental clinic in Ward 7, as well as an indoor swimming pool.
Along with an international engineering background, Park ran a local small business repairing smartphones, is a director of the Oakville North-Burlington federal Liberal association and sits on his condo board.
He says his priorities are to resolve concerns about construction and large commercial vehicles on Loyalist Trail, deal with concerns about high-rise buildings and address increasing overnight car theft.
"A high-rise condo building has been approved in the middle of the residential area. The residents near there are unhappy with the situation. If I become a town councillor, I would not vote on a new development plan of high-rise buildings in the council meeting.
Car theft at night has increased recently. People in ward 7 worry about it. If I become a town councillor, I will initiate a rebate program for homeowners to install surveillance cameras on their driveways. I will try to initiate more surveillance cameras on the streets. I will work to increase police patrols and checks."
A project manager with the region of Peel, Melody Wong-Gonsalves, says her 20 years working in the public sector gives her invaluable knowledge about the working of municipal regulations, policies and procedures.
She is a volunteer scout leader and soccer coach. In 2018, she co-founded the Glenorchy Festival, an annual Ward 7 community event offering activities and treats for families and an opportunity to learn about local services and businesses. The 2022 festival attracted over 2,000 people.
"My community involvement to date has primarily been in support of our youth population to foster memorable experiences and impactful change," says Wong-Gonsalves.
"My initial focus will include: Ensuring people are safe on the roads through strategic traffic control – with more cars on the road, we are noticing more speeding, collisions or near-misses, increasing traffic volumes and parking issues. I hope to address how we can reduce these challenges by introducing improved traffic control and management.
Bringing awareness of what local services and businesses are available – when a new neighbourhood is developed, one of the challenges is knowing where to find local services and corporations. We want to support Oakville to keep our money within the local economy and foster community connections.
Keeping residents informed of upcoming changes through community engagements – one of the most common issues that residents have is that they feel that they are not heard or that there was not enough communication on changes proposed for the neighbourhood. When people are not properly informed, they show resistance. When decisions are made collaboratively, we all feel empowered that they were a part of the decision-making. This engagement will help drive more successful changes."
Scott Xie lives in Ward 5 but says he is running in Ward 7 because he offers an understanding of the area and a genuine calling to build a better community for all residents.
A professional in the area of educational program development, Xie served on the Parent Involvement Committee with Halton's public school board.
If elected, he says he will implement an open-door policy that includes office hour drop-ins, virtual town halls and other community events and will strive for "timely, resident-centred and pragmatic solutions to pressing issues."
"Through a community-wide survey and interview, more than 120 respondents expressed their views on what matters most to our ward. Top of the list – community safety. In particular, our residents are concerned about increased traffic flow on community streets, speed limit surrounding school zones, break-ins and prevalence of car theft.
Also up on the list is the desire for more green spaces and parks for the ward. As a young community, many pre-approved development projects have our residents worried about the increased use of land resulting in less public spaces for plants, greenery and parks. My goal is to address the issue with our municipal and provincial counterparts to retain and create environment-friendly public spaces for all residents.
Events and programming at the new Community Centre caught many attentions too. With all fundings available and the project at its designing stage, our residents will expect a new community centre complex in less than two years. Many would expect a better planning of the facility – more multi-faith rooms and multicultural programs, enriched educational resources, recreational facilities and recurring events that are newcomers and young parents-friendly."
Nabil Bin Arif and Ajay Rosha are also registered candidates for the Ward 7 town council seat. Neither responded to our questions.
Ward 7 town and regional council candidates
After finishing third in an extremely tight race in the 2018 election, Nav Nanda takes a second shot at the Ward 7 town and regional council seat.
Chair of the parent council at Oodenawi School and founder of the North Oakville Ward 7 Residents Association (NOW7), Nanda says she has been an active community member since moving to the ward in 2014.
"I believe in fostering relationships and working together in a collaborative manner in order to get the best possible outcome for the residents and community," she says.
"I believe that Ward 7 has an urgent need for more schools, responsible development and increased safety.
We currently have a crisis for public schools. I have successfully advocated for five schools in four years, but this is not enough. The schools we currently have are over capacity, and we have more portables than we should have ever had. This is due to developments that are going up before the infrastructure is in place.
I believe that there should be responsible development in our community. Responsible development means to have infrastructure in place before approving developments; this includes parking spaces for the developments. Currently, the town allows less parking to be built for condominiums than there are units. This needs to change.
Safety has also been an issue with increased crime in the last few years. In working with Halton Police through the NOW7 Residents Association, we have educated residents on safety, protection, and increased awareness."
Pavan Parmar says her work as ward councillor over the last four years has allowed her to listen to, understand and help Ward 7 residents to overcome challenges.
A former consultant with BDO Canada, Parmar holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and an MBA.
She says her three priorities are increasing livability, expanding transit and continuing to improve community safety.
"Livability is a broad term that is central to our Livable Oakville urban plan. It includes the need to push back on development proposals when they don't reflect our own community-developed official plan that directs growth to places that it is intended. This means responding to inadequate parking, lack of green space and heights and densities that don't reflect our community plan.
We need expanded transit opportunities. Ward 7 was planned as a walkable and transit-first community. For that to succeed, we need easily accessible transit. Without it, we'll keep relying on cars, and our road system will have difficulty keeping up with growth.
Finally, neighbourhood safety is not a once-and-done; continued oversight and action is necessary to ensure the well-being of our community. That means working closely with our police service, local by-law enforcement and other community partners to build on our many successful initiatives targeting concerns such as speeding, reckless driving and crime. As a member of the Halton Police Board, I look forward to continuing this work for our community."