--- title: "Habiba Desai: candidate for mayor, Toronto 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/candidates/habiba-desai" last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:09:40.130Z" meta: description: "Habiba Desai is on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Mayor, with a nomination filed on August 21, 2026. She ran for Mayor in 2023 and..." "og:description": "Habiba Desai is on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Mayor, with a nomination filed on August 21, 2026. She ran for Mayor in 2023 and..." "og:title": "Habiba Desai: candidate for mayor, Toronto 2026" "twitter:description": "Habiba Desai is on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Mayor, with a nomination filed on August 21, 2026. She ran for Mayor in 2023 and..." "twitter:title": "Habiba Desai: candidate for mayor, Toronto 2026" --- ** Mayor · Toronto 2026 # Habiba Desai Repeat candidate and consultant running for Mayor on affordability and new leadership. Habiba Desai is on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Mayor, with a nomination filed on August 21, 2026. She ran for Mayor in 2023 and received 196 votes, 50th of 102 candidates in the City’s results. In a statement to Daily Bread Food Bank she says she is running to bring a new generation of leadership focused on affordability, food security, housing, jobs and opportunity. Explore priorities Campaign links Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page Candidate space2026 ![Habiba Desai, from Habiba Desai campaign, via YouTube.](https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/images/candidates/habiba-desai-640.webp) *Habiba DesaiMayorv.* [Image: Habiba Desai campaign, via YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@habibadesaiTO) 01 / Introduction ## About Habiba Desai Habiba Desai appears on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Mayor. A certified candidate is one whose nomination the City Clerk has accepted. The list shows the nomination date as August 21, 2026 and gives a YouTube channel as the campaign website. The YouTube channel she gave the City showed only its title when voche.me opened it. The Local reports that on LinkedIn she is the sole employee of B-Love Consulting. In 2023 she told The CJN that she works as a technical writer and designs projects through her consulting business. The Local says she reports volunteering at Michael Garron Hospital and Kids Help Phone, and advocating for a community benefits agreement between Metrolinx and Thorncliffe Park residents. The Local lists her earlier candidacies as the 2021 federal election in Toronto-Danforth, the 2022 municipal election in Scarborough-Guildwood, the 2023 mayoral by-election and the 2024 Don Valley West by-election. The CJN reported in 2023 that she ran as an independent in Danforth in 2021 and in Scarborough-Guildwood in 2022. The City’s declaration of results for the 2023 by-election lists Habiba Desai with 196 votes, 50th of 102 candidates. voche.me did not open the results of the other races. In the CJN interview she described earlier political work: a student government slate at the University of Toronto Scarborough, a 2015 federal campaign in Etobicoke Centre and work as a constituency assistant for two Don Valley West MPs. These are her own accounts as reported by the column, and voche.me did not confirm them. That interview also carried her 2023 policy statements, which are not treated as her 2026 platform. For 2026, her written statement to Daily Bread Food Bank cites Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, and says a young mayor can bring bold new ideas to Toronto. The Local reports that on Instagram she mentions free school meals, strengthening Toronto as a trade city, and housing as a human right. voche.me did not read her Instagram page. Read the sources 02 / The issues ## Priorities & positions Campaign-source summary Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform. 01 ### Affordability, food security, housing, jobs and opportunity In her written statement to Daily Bread Food Bank, she says she is running to bring a new generation of leadership to Toronto focused on these five areas. [Daily Bread Food Bank · Toronto Mayoral Candidates’ Written Statements, 2026 ](https://www.dailybread.ca/blog/toronto-mayoral-candidates-written-statements-2/) 02 ### Learn from New York City’s approach to affordability In the same statement she says she learned from New York’s approach, which she lists as city-owned grocery stores, stronger childcare and rent protection, and that Toronto should try ideas that work elsewhere. [Daily Bread Food Bank · Toronto Mayoral Candidates’ Written Statements, 2026 ](https://www.dailybread.ca/blog/toronto-mayoral-candidates-written-statements-2/) 03 ### Free school meals, Toronto as a trade city, and housing as a human right The Local reports that she mentions these three topics on her Instagram account. voche.me did not read the posts. [The Local · Toronto Mayoral Candidates 2026 (updated as of September 21, 2026) ](https://thelocal.to/toronto-mayoral-candidates-2026/) Research status ## What voche.me has checked Evidence reviewed on October 4, 2026: the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates, The Local’s candidate page for the 2026 mayoral race, her written statement on the Daily Bread Food Bank page, a 2023 column in The CJN, a CTV News Toronto video page, and the City’s declaration of results for the 2023 by-election. Name, office and nomination date are as the City prints them. Her 2026 priorities come from her own statement and from The Local’s summary of her Instagram account. Gaps. The YouTube channel and the Instagram page returned no readable posts. The CTV page holds a 30 second video whose words were not available as text. The CJN interview dates from 2023 and its policy statements are not used as her 2026 platform. Her results in the 2021, 2022 and 2024 races were not checked. Empty sections record only that nothing was verified. The questionnaire has not been sent. [City of Toronto · list of certified candidates](https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/elections/candidate-list/) [The Local · Toronto Mayoral Candidates 2026 (updated as of September 21, 2026)](https://thelocal.to/toronto-mayoral-candidates-2026/) [The CJN · Doorstep Postings: Habiba Desai wants to combat hate with love, May 15, 2023](https://thecjn.ca/opinion/doorstep-posting-77/) [Daily Bread Food Bank · Toronto Mayoral Candidates’ Written Statements, 2026](https://www.dailybread.ca/blog/toronto-mayoral-candidates-written-statements-2/) [CTV News Toronto · HABIBA DESAI, running for Toronto Mayor, Your 30 Seconds, September 25, 2026](https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/video/2026/09/25/habiba-desai-running-for-toronto-mayor-your-30-seconds/) [City of Toronto · Declaration of Results, 2023 By-Election for Mayor](https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/8eef-Declaration-of-Results-for-the-2023-Toronto-By-Election-for-Mayor-Final.pdf) 03 / Background ## Experience & community Dates not given ### B-Love Consulting The Local reports that on LinkedIn she is the sole employee of B-Love Consulting. In 2023 she told The CJN that she works as a technical writer and designs projects through her consulting business. voche.me did not check a business registry. [The Local · Toronto Mayoral Candidates 2026 (updated as of September 21, 2026)](https://thelocal.to/toronto-mayoral-candidates-2026/) 2023 ### Candidate in the mayoral by-election The City’s declaration of results lists Habiba Desai with 196 votes, 50th of 102 candidates. She was not elected. [City of Toronto · Declaration of Results, 2023 By-Election for Mayor](https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/8eef-Declaration-of-Results-for-the-2023-Toronto-By-Election-for-Mayor-Final.pdf) 2021 to 2024 ### Candidate in federal, municipal and by-election races The Local lists the 2021 federal election in Toronto-Danforth, the 2022 municipal election in Scarborough-Guildwood and the 2024 Don Valley West by-election. voche.me did not open the results of these races. [The Local · Toronto Mayoral Candidates 2026 (updated as of September 21, 2026)](https://thelocal.to/toronto-mayoral-candidates-2026/) 04 / Questions & answers ## Questions for the candidate Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied. No questions and answers have been supplied. ### Have your own question? Ask Habiba Desai directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one. 05 / About this page ## Questions about this page Facts voche.me can state about Habiba Desai's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Habiba Desai? No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Habiba Desai's own campaign.
Does Habiba Desai currently hold public office? Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Habiba Desai.
How many sources does this Habiba Desai profile cite? This profile lists 6 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Habiba Desai's page show no answer? The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Habiba Desai in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When is the election Habiba Desai is running in? The 2026 Toronto municipal election, including the Mayor race, is decided on October 26, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions ## Space for campaign updates ### No campaign updates yet Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added. ## Sources & transparency - [City of Toronto · list of certified candidates ](https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/elections/candidate-list/)Checked October 4, 2026 - [The Local · Toronto Mayoral Candidates 2026 (updated as of September 21, 2026) ](https://thelocal.to/toronto-mayoral-candidates-2026/)Checked October 4, 2026 - [The CJN · Doorstep Postings: Habiba Desai wants to combat hate with love, May 15, 2023 ](https://thecjn.ca/opinion/doorstep-posting-77/)Checked October 4, 2026 - [Daily Bread Food Bank · Toronto Mayoral Candidates’ Written Statements, 2026 ](https://www.dailybread.ca/blog/toronto-mayoral-candidates-written-statements-2/)Checked October 4, 2026 - [CTV News Toronto · HABIBA DESAI, running for Toronto Mayor, Your 30 Seconds, September 25, 2026 ](https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/video/2026/09/25/habiba-desai-running-for-toronto-mayor-your-30-seconds/)Checked October 4, 2026 - [City of Toronto · Declaration of Results, 2023 By-Election for Mayor ](https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/8eef-Declaration-of-Results-for-the-2023-Toronto-By-Election-for-Mayor-Final.pdf)Checked October 4, 2026 Missing information does not imply a candidate’s position. [Read our editorial standards.](https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/about) Campaign contact ## Campaign links & contact. Find the candidate’s website, social accounts and contact information. [YouTube channel (the website she gave the City)](https://www.youtube.com/@habibadesaiTO) [Instagram (@desaihabiba), linked from her Daily Bread statement](https://www.instagram.com/desaihabiba/) ## View more candidates. [All candidate spaces ](https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/candidates) [Mayor**Alex Cruze**](https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/candidates/alex-cruze) [Mayor**Alton Frederick**](https://voche.me/on/toronto-2026/candidates/alton-frederick) Candidate Q&A ## Ask Habiba Desai a question. Give your name, email and question. We send it to the campaign, and publish their answer here if we get one. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/on/toronto-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.