Daisy Wai - PC
Roozbeh Farhadi - Liberal
Raymond Bhushan - NDP
Daisy Wai's (Progressive Conservative) candidate
1. What do you see as Richmond Hill’s strengths and weaknesses?
The diversity of Richmond Hill is undeniably our greatest strength. Our community draws from the rich tapestry of knowledge, skills, and cultural heritage that all members of our community bring. The blending of different traditions and backgrounds not only enriches daily life but also creates an environment where mutual respect and understanding thrive. In embracing our diversity, Richmond Hill will strengthen our foundation, creating a place where everyone has the opportunity to contribute, grow, and succeed together.
2. We need more mental health care. People and families are suffering. What are your party’s plans to address this need?
Only the Ontario PCs have a plan to support Ontario's communities by improving access to mental health and addiction services.
Through our Roadmap to Wellness, we’ve launched nearly 30 Youth Wellness Hubs, connecting over 60,000 youth and families to mental health services from Windsor to Kenora. We’ve expanded Ontario's Structured Psychotherapy Program, providing free cognitive behavioural therapy to over 83,000 adults. In addition to the 500 addiction recovery beds we have added since 2018, we are creating 27 new Homelessness Addictions Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs to deliver responsive, comprehensive mental health services, addictions care, social services and supportive housing.
We will continue to build on our record improving access to mental health and addictions services in every corner of the province.
3. I have paid attention to the Alliance for Liveable Ontario’s 5 Ways Home. Five Ways Home
• Build in the right places
• Build a wide variety of housing types
• Build smarter and faster
• Invest heavily in non-market, affordable housing
• Make housing affordable and part of liveable communities.
What do you think of this report, and which ones of these 5 action items do you believe would help Richmond Hill have more housing?
We need to build homes—fast—and get shovels in the ground. We need affordable homes, attainable homes, modular homes, and more density around transit.
We need to cut through the red tape to speed up approvals. That’s why we led the charge to remove the HST on purpose-built rentals and eliminated municipal fees on affordable and non-profit housing. We’ve introduced over $3 billion in new funding for municipalities to support housing-enabling infrastructure, including $1.2 billion for municipalities that meet or exceed their housing targets. We expanded this by providing $120 million to small, rural, and northern municipalities. Additionally, we’ve invested over $42 million to help enroll 5,100 new households into the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit this year.
As your MPP for Richmond Hill, I will continue to work with municipalities to ensure they have the tools they need to build more affordable and supportive housing to meet the needs of our communities for years to come.
4. I am concerned about the city’s ability to mitigate the damage of increased severe weather. I believe the biggest concern in Richmond Hill is flooding. Would you ask for more provincial funding for Richmond Hill to build the needed infrastructure?
From protecting our economy to investing in critical infrastructure, only the Ontario PCs have a plan to support Richmond Hill.
While the previous Liberal government left Ontario with a massive infrastructure deficit, the Ontario PCs will continue to build on our record, creating more jobs as we build roads, transit, homes, schools, and highways.
Our PC team has invested over $25 million to support 18 municipalities, including York Region, build storm and wastewater infrastructure, upgrade sewers and pumping stations and clean out debris from stormwater management ponds.
As your MPP for Richmond Hill, I will continue to work with our municipalities to ensure we have the infrastructure we need in our community today, and for generations to come.
5. What do you suggest can be done in Ontario to mitigate Trump’s tariffs?
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are designed to hurt our economy and undermine our workers while putting hundreds of thousands of livelihoods at risk. Things have never been more uncertain.
Our community needs a government that will use every tool in our toolbox to protect our workers, businesses, and families. As your MPP for Richmond, that is exactly what I will deliver.
A re-elected Ontario PC government’s plan to protect Ontario will build on the progress we’ve made to build our economy, protect workers, and keep us competitive, not just for a week or a month, but for years to come.
Our plan includes creating Fortress Am-Can by taking advantage of free-trade agreements designed to protect jobs at home, investing $1 billion to increase the Skills Development Fund, $300 million to expand the Ontario Made in Manufacturing Tax Credit, and $40 million for a new Trade-Impacted Communities Fund.
We will do whatever it takes to be ready to protect Ontario.
Roozbeh Farhadi's (Liberal Candidate) responses
1. What do you see as Richmond Hill’s strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: Richmond Hill is a diverse and vibrant community with a strong local economy, excellent schools, and engaged residents. It’s a place where families, businesses, and newcomers thrive. The city also benefits from its strategic location within the GTA, offering access to major job centers while maintaining a suburban feel.
Weaknesses: The biggest challenges include housing affordability, access to healthcare (especially family doctors), and transit. Richmond Hill residents also face rising costs of living, long wait times for essential services, and increasing concerns about community safety.
2. We need more mental health care. People and families are suffering. What are your party’s plans to address this need?
The Ontario Liberal Party recognizes the urgent need for better mental health care. We will invest $3.1 billion to attract, recruit, retain, and integrate 3,100 family doctors by 2029, ensuring every person in Ontario has access to the care they deserve. We will Structure all new primary care clinics under a team-based delivery model, such as Community Health Centres or Family Health Teams, to ensure there is enhanced access to mental health support, particularly for children and youth.
Additionally, we will reduce the burden of paperwork on doctors, allowing them to spend more time caring for patients, including those in need of mental health support. By increasing access to family doctors and improving Ontario Health Teams, we will ensure that mental health care is integrated into primary care, making it easier for people to get the help they need close to home.
3. I have paid attention to the Alliance for Liveable Ontario’s 5 Ways Home. What do you think of this report, and which ones of these 5 action items do you believe would help Richmond Hill have more housing?
The Ontario Liberal Party aligns with several principles outlined in the "5 Ways Home" report. Our housing strategy focuses on building in the right places, promoting a variety of housing types, and investing heavily in non-market, affordable housing.
Scrapping Development Charges on new housing, cutting costs by as much as $170,000 on each new family-sized home. Additionally Eliminating the Ontario Land Transfer Tax for first-time homebuyers, seniors downsizing, and non-profit homebuilders are important steps in making housing more affordable and directly benefitting cities like Richmond Hill.
4. I am concerned about the city’s ability to mitigate the damage of increased severe weather. I believe the biggest concern in Richmond Hill is flooding. Would you ask for more provincial funding for Richmond Hill to build the needed infrastructure?
Addressing the impacts of climate change, including flooding, is a priority. Doug Ford has failed Ontario by not having any plans to address climate change. Ontario liberals will be introducing Better Communities Fund (BC Fund) to help municipalities cover infrastructure costs, encouraging sustainable and affordable development. I will work tirelessly to ensure Richmond Hill gets the support and funding needed to build infrastructure to support our cities growth.
5. What do you suggest can be done in Ontario to mitigate Trump’s tariffs?
The Ontario Liberal Party is committed to standing together as Team Canada against external economic challenges. We have developed a comprehensive plan to mitigate the impact of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. This plan focuses on supporting Ontario families and protecting local jobs. Key initiatives include:
1. Incentivizing Healthcare Professionals to Return: To address the healthcare crisis, the plan offers bonuses to nurses and doctors currently practicing in the U.S. who choose to return to Canada, thereby strengthening Ontario's healthcare system.
2. Establishing a Fight Tariffs Fund: This fund provides Ontario businesses with access to loans at government interest rates, reducing borrowing costs and helping businesses protect and create jobs.
3. Implementing the "More for You Tax Cut": This initiative aims to save Ontarians up to $1,150 annually by removing the HST from home heating and hydro bills, putting more money back into the pockets of residents.
4. Cutting the Small Business Tax Rate: The plan proposes halving the small business tax rate from 3.2% to 1.6% and increasing the eligible income threshold, potentially saving small business owners up to $18,000 per year.
5. Focusing on Essential Infrastructure Projects: The plan emphasizes investing in critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, roads, and transit to stimulate the economy and meet community needs.
6. Promoting Fiscal Responsibility: By ensuring wise spending of taxpayers' money, the plan seeks to reinvest savings into supporting the stimulus plan and strengthening the economy.
7. Eliminating Interprovincial Trade Barriers: Working with other provinces, the plan aims to remove unnecessary trade barriers within Canada, fostering a unified approach to economic growth.
These measures are designed to counteract the negative effects of U.S. tariffs, support Ontario's economy, and ensure the well-being of its residents.
Raymond Bhushan's (NDP candidate) responses
1. What do you see as Richmond Hill’s strengths and weaknesses?
Richmond Hill is a wonderful community with incredible potential. We have beautiful parks, safe streets, and the best schools in the province. Our residents come from across the world, and our diversity is a point of pride rather than contention. We work hard, take pride in our communities, and help our neighbours out.
Unfortunately, our potential is wasted. Most residents commute to jobs outside the city, spending time and money elsewhere. Those who want to work in Richmond Hill cannot, because there aren't enough jobs. We have young people who go to high school in Richmond Hill, move for university, and then never come back because it's too expensive to live here. If you can't afford a car, you're stuck with an unreliable transit network in a car-dependent city. We're wasting our talents and our leaders are doing nothing about it.
2. We need more mental health care. People and families are suffering. What are your party’s plans to address this need?
Mental health and addiction are serious problems in Ontario, and we need a comprehensive strategy to deal with it. When Premier Ford is closing his eyes and pretending it's not an issue, it's no wonder why the situation worsens every day. We will increase funding to community mental health service providers that provide crucia services to help people with addictions. We will
establish wage parity for health care workers in community settings to ensure community primary care providers can also offer mental health support. We will fund the addition of detox beds and residential treatment beds.
3. I have paid attention to the Alliance for Liveable Ontario’s 5 Ways Home.
Build in the right places
Build a wide variety of housing types
Build smarter and faster
Invest heavily in non-market, affordable housing
Make housing affordable and part of liveable communities.
What do you think of this report, and which ones of these 5 action items do you believe would help Richmond Hill have more housing?
I totally agree with all five of these action items, which are all reflected in the NDP's Homes Ontario Plan. We need to build smart instead of building endless sprawl over our farmland and watersheds. In Richmond Hill we are stuck in a dichotomy between tall condo buildings or huge single-family homes. There is a "missing middle" of infills, fourplexes, and low-rise apartments that we have stopped building due to zoning laws and red tape. Just look at places like Montreal, where they can preserve their quiet suburbs while building new housing. Not only do we need to increase private-sector construction, but we must also get the government back in the business of building housing. Co-operative units, like the ones on Creswick Rd, are a perfect example of how we can create affordable, non-market housing that is accessible to new families and recent immigrants. The housing crisis is a crisis of undersupply, so we need a government committed to building -- and building smart.
4. I am concerned about the city’s ability to mitigate the damage of increased severe weather. I believe the biggest concern in Richmond Hill is flooding. Would you ask for more provincial funding for Richmond Hill to build the needed infrastructure?
Yes. Severe weather events are getting worse everywhere, including here in Richmond Hill. The costs of inaction are far higher than the costs of preventative measures -- imagine the harm to our community and economy when houses and businesses are destroyed by flooding.
5. What do you suggest can be done in Ontario to mitigate Trump’s tariffs?
The United States has proven that it is no longer a reliable partner. We must forge a new path for Ontario and immediately reduce our dependence on the United States. We need to buy Canadian, procure Canadian, and hire Canadian. As someone who works in mining, it makes no sense that we extract so many metals here in Ontario but ship them across the globe for refinement and value-added manufacturing, and then buy those goods at a premium. We need a made-in-Ontario supply chain, where Ontario resources are refined in Ontario smelters, processed in Ontario factories, and purchased by Ontario consumers. This is a fight for our lives. In the words of Tommy Douglas, "we believe that no nation can survive politically free but economically enslaved."
