Restore democracy at the TDSB
Her website says she would restore local, democratically elected boards, advance equity and safety programs, and stop the sale of TDSB lands and oppose school closures.
Sarah Smithies campaign website01 / Introduction
About Sarah Smithies
Sarah Smithies appears on the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates for Toronto District School Board in Ward 6. A certified candidate is one whose nomination the City Clerk has accepted. The list shows the nomination date as July 31, 2026 and a campaign website, sarahward6.ca. The City’s list of withdrawn candidates also holds an entry for Sarah Smithies for Toronto District School Board Ward 3, withdrawn July 31, 2026, the same day as this nomination.
Her campaign website says she is a long-time west-end resident who works in the technology industry and is a PhD candidate in Communication and Culture, with a BA in Political Science and an MA in Communication and Culture. It says she is involved in TDSB parent councils, peace and solidarity work and tenant organizing. voche.me did not check these statements with the schools or organizations involved.
Her website says the province has underfunded schools and that she would work to restore local, democratically elected boards, reduce class sizes, reverse staffing cuts, expand special education supports, oppose school closures and the sale of TDSB lands, and keep police officers out of schools. It also says the education tax should be removed from the municipal property tax. Her Know Your Vote T.O. answers repeat these points, and they are her campaign’s claims, which voche.me did not check against provincial budget figures.
TDSB wards changed for 2026. Ward 6 covers City wards 5 (York South-Weston) and 8 (Eglinton-Lawrence). The City Clerk’s declaration of results for October 24, 2022 shows Liban Hassan elected in the old Ward 6 and Shelley Laskin elected in the old Ward 8, and the TDSB’s trustee list for 2018 to 2022 names the old Ward 6 as York South-Weston and the old Ward 8 as Eglinton-Lawrence and Toronto-St. Paul’s. Those results belong to the old wards and are not treated as results for the new Ward 6. The TDSB’s trustee wards page says that during provincial supervision the powers of trustees rest with the provincially appointed Supervisor, that trustees have no official duties with the board at this time, and that this also applies to trustees elected in October 2026.
02 / The issues
Priorities & positions
Campaign-source summarySummarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
Fair funding for student success
Her website lists smaller class sizes, repairs to schools, more special education supports, the return of the Model Schools program and reversal of cuts to education assistants, lunchroom supervisors and outdoor learning centres.
Sarah Smithies campaign websiteProtect the public school system
Her website says she would press the province to restore education funding, keep police officers out of schools and expand in-school daycare, after-school and Early ON programs.
Sarah Smithies campaign websiteResearch status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on October 4, 2026: the City of Toronto’s list of certified candidates and its list of withdrawn candidates, her campaign website, her Know Your Vote T.O. page, the TDSB’s trustee wards page, the City Clerk’s 2022 declaration of results and the TDSB’s 2018 to 2022 trustee list. Everything about her background and priorities comes from her own website and her own answers, and each is attributed in the text.
Gaps. Her Know Your Vote T.O. page lists a Facebook page and an Instagram account, sarah_ward6. The Instagram page opened as a login page showing only the account title, and the Facebook page showed only its title, so nothing from either is used. Her website gives funding and repair figures that are her claims and are not repeated here. No public role is on record, so no board minutes were searched. No news report quoting her was found. The questionnaire has not been sent.
03 / Background
Experience & community
Background not supplied
Work, public service and community involvement will appear here when supplied. No experience has been added to this profile.
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 Sarah Smithies 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 Sarah Smithies's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Sarah Smithies?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Sarah Smithies's own campaign.
Does Sarah Smithies currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Sarah Smithies.
How many sources does this Sarah Smithies 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 Sarah Smithies's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Sarah Smithies 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 Sarah Smithies is running in?
The 2026 Toronto municipal election, including the Toronto District School Board 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 Checked
- Sarah Smithies campaign website Checked
- Know Your Vote T.O. · Sarah Smithies, TDSB Ward 6 Checked
- TDSB · Trustee Wards Checked
- City Clerk · Declaration of Results, 2022 Toronto municipal election Checked
- TDSB · Trustees, 2018-2022 Checked
Missing information does not imply a candidate’s position. Read our editorial standards.
