Local champion Thadsha Navaneethan ready to win more for people in Scarborough—Guildwood as NDP candidate

SCARBOROUGH - Community champion and nonprofit leader Thadsha Navaneethan will be the Ontario NDP candidate for Scarborough–Guildwood in the 2023 by-election.

A respected local organizer with deep roots in the riding, Thadsha knows her community’s priorities. Scarborough residents can count on her to stand up for better health care, education, housing, and a more affordable life.

“I am excited to welcome Thadsha Navaneethan as our candidate in Scarborough,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said. “Thadsha has an impressive track record of working with communities to amplify their voices and deliver results. I’m excited to see her do that at Queen’s Park as the next NDP MPP for Scarborough–Guildwood.”

Thadsha has dedicated her career to making life better for people. She has served as a program coordinator for after school programs in Scarborough, and later as a diversity trainer and leader for non-profits such as the Canadian Cancer Society. Her most recent experience is as a Human Rights Officer for OPSEU/SEFPO.

Thadsha also played an important role in Olivia Chow’s breakthrough win in Scarborough in Monday’s mayoral by-election. She and her team will be building on that win to deliver positive, progressive representation and hold Doug Ford’s agenda to account.

“This by-election is a chance to not only send Doug Ford a message that Scarborough deserves better, but to also elect a strong voice to who will work hard to win more for people,” Stiles said.

Stiles and Navaneethan were joined by Ontario NDP Deputy Leader Doly Begum (MPP for Scarborough Southwest), local community leader and 2022 Ontario NDP candidate for Scarborough Guildwood Veronica Javier, and members of the Official Opposition Ontario NDP caucus for today’s announcement. It was made near the apartment building where Thadsha and her family lived after they arrived in Canada as refugees when she was just 10. They were fleeing the genocide in Sri Lanka.

The nomination will be confirmed by local members at a nomination meeting tomorrow. Election Day is Thursday, July 27.

QUOTES

Thadsha Navaneethan, NDP candidate for Scarborough–Guildwood:

“Guildwood became my home when my family arrived in Canada as refugees when I was 10. Growing up in community housing, I experienced firsthand the challenges and barriers my parents faced, particularly while working in precarious, unsafe, and low-wage jobs. Their struggles and their resilience motivated me to dedicate my career to organizing, community development, and equity work in the non-profit sector. Now, raising a family of my own in Scarborough, I know the challenges that our community faces. I’m looking forward to winning more for Scarborough as a member of Marit Stiles’ Ontario NDP and the Official Opposition.”

Doly Begum, Deputy Leader of the Ontario NDP and MPP for Scarborough Southwest:

“I have known Thadsha and her work for years. She is a tenacious, dedicated, and inspiring advocate. Life has gotten harder for Scarborough after five years of Doug Ford’s Conservatives. Thadsha knows what’s needed to make life more affordable, deliver better services, and create more opportunities. With Thadsha as MPP, people in Scarborough–Guildwood will have a champion on their side.”

Veronica Javier, Ontario NDP candidate for Scarborough–Guildwood (2022):

“Thadsha is such an exciting candidate for Scarborough–Guildwood. For too long, our community has been ignored by the other two parties. And in this by-election, Thadsha is the only candidate who not only gets it, but who has the community support to win.”

BIO

When Thadsha was 10, she and her family arrived in Guildwood as refugees fleeing the genocide in Sri Lanka.

Her career in the non-profit sector includes time managing the Malvern Family Resource Centre, and leading diversity and equity initiatives at the Canadian Cancer Society, Evergreen Hospice, and the Jane & Finch Community Centre.

• She served as the Vice-President of the Federal NDP from 2018 to 2021.
• She has received many awards and much recognition for her work advancing equity.
• She and her partner Neethan are raising their two young sons in Scarborough.
• Thadsha speaks English and Tamil.