🔎 The race
Brampton — home to 656,480 people in the 2021 census Wikipedia — Brampton (2021 census population) and Canada's seventh-largest city by population — elects its mayor, regional and city councillors and school board trustees on Monday, October 26, 2026 City of Brampton — 2026 Municipal Election. Incumbent Patrick Brown seeks a third term against eleven challengers — a mayoral field twice the size of 2022's. Ontario municipal elections are held every four years; polling day across the province is Monday, October 26, 2026, including in Brampton.
Voters choose one mayor city-wide, plus five regional councillors and five city councillors — after the election, council chooses three city councillors to be made regional councillors — and trustees for four school boards. The City says the election provides "more than 425,000 eligible electors" the opportunity to vote. Advance voting runs October 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17 — Fridays 12–8 p.m., weekends 10 a.m.–5 p.m. — at any advance location in the city City of Brampton — Voter FAQs, 2026 Municipal Election; on Monday, October 26, polls are open 10 a.m.–8 p.m. and voters may use any location within their ward.
Twelve candidates were certified for mayor on the final list — twice as many as the six who ran in 2022 Brampton Guardian — "Meet the 12 candidates running for mayor of Brampton Oct. 26" (Aug 31, 2026). Three candidates (Avi Dhaliwal, Gursimranjit Singh and Tirth Vinodkumar Patel) withdrew before the final list was set; Dhaliwal later backed Prabh Gill Wikipedia — 2026 Brampton municipal election (candidate notes, endorsements, withdrawals). The Brampton Guardian notes that 2022 provincial legislation introducing "strong mayor" powers in Ontario makes the mayor's office particularly significant to how cities operate.
The Local and the Brampton Guardian profiled the full slate; The Pointer provided the deepest challenger coverage The Local — Brampton Mayoral Candidates. The official candidate record is maintained by the City and by AMO's provincial results service AMO — official 2026 election results page, City of Brampton. Platform summaries in the candidate profiles come from campaign websites and local news coverage; where a candidate has published nothing findable, that is stated rather than guessed. The themes that dominated Brampton's 2026 mayoral campaign, as covered by local newsrooms: hospital care, transit finances, growth claims, housing, and accountability.
2022 in review: Patrick Brown won his second term in a landslide on October 24, 2022, taking 50,652 votes — 59.6% — in a six-candidate race. A record-low 87,155 of 354,884 eligible voters cast a ballot, a turnout of about 24.6% AMO — official 2022 election results, City of Brampton (mayoral results, eligible voters, ballots cast). Nikki Kaur took 21,693 votes (25.5%), Bob Singh 7,166 (8.4%), Tony Moracci 3,775 (4.4%), Vidya Sagar Gautam 1,398 (1.6%) and Prabh Kaur Mand 235 (0.3%). Four years on, the field has doubled to twelve candidates — including Gautam again.
⚡ Key issues
🏥 The missing second hospital
Brampton is "the largest city in Canada without more than one hospital," and challengers call the Peel Memorial Phase 2 construction claims misleading because no major work is visible on site. Wesley Jackson argues "announcements aren't beds" and points to council cancelling and then reintroducing the hospital levy; challengers have promised a forensic audit of levy funds (Prabh Gill), a quarterly public dashboard on the project (Gill), treating the hospital as "a standing public priority" (Jagruti Bhatt) and keeping the 1% hospital levy (Sandeep Somal).
🚌 Transit & Brampton Transit's finances
Transit was a recurring attack line: Wesley Jackson questioned how the city signed a multi-million-dollar private transit deal with a largely unproven company named Argo "when we don't even know if we can fund the next five years of (Brampton) Transit." Jackson also proposes expanding Züm bus routes and transit-oriented development clustered around GO stations.
🏗️ Growth, infrastructure & the "$9.4 billion" claim
Brown campaigns on $9.4 billion secured for projects in Brampton; Somal called the claim misleading and Tarriwal argued the total "wasn't his," saying much of it came from other orders of government or previous councils, or isn't guaranteed. Downtown investment featured at the arts forum: Paul Tarriwal called the Riverwalk floodplain downtown "a goldmine that needs to be unlocked," tied to the flood-protection project whose main construction began in 2025 and is slated for completion in 2028. Venue shortages — including the under-utilized Rose Theatre and reports of millions in annual arts-venue losses subsidized by taxpayers — also shaped the campaign.
🏘️ Housing & affordability
Wesley Jackson says the affordable-housing wait list was six years in 2018 and "today it starts at 13 years," and has pressed for a land value audit and questioned cutting developer fees as a way to lower home prices. His published affordability plan (Wesley Jackson for Mayor — "Outline of my campaign, Ballot Talk 2026") rests on independent audits of major spending, putting under-used city land to work, and supporting affordable, non-profit and co-operative housing with reduced parking requirements near transit. At the arts forum Jackson tied affordability to talent retention: "what about the missing middle of artists?"
🗳️ Accountability & the strong-mayor era
With strong-mayor powers expanding the office, the campaign turned sharply on transparency: Brown's absence from two October debates drew accusations from challengers, including Prabh Gill's line that "Patrick Brown is allergic to transparency" and Somal's "It's disrespectful to democracy." Jackson runs on a ten-point anti-corruption procurement plan centred on an independent auditor general rather than a whistleblower hotline routed through the CAO's office.
- Withdrew: Avi Dhaliwal, Gursimranjit Singh and Tirth Vinodkumar Patel all withdrew their mayoral candidacies before the final list. Dhaliwal later backed Prabh Gill.
- Sources: City of Brampton — 2026 Municipal Election · City of Brampton — Voter FAQs, 2026 Municipal Election · City of Brampton news release (Sept 29, 2026) — expanded advance voting, accessible units, 425,000+ eligible electors · AMO — official 2026 election results page, City of Brampton · AMO — official 2022 election results, City of Brampton (mayoral results, eligible voters, ballots cast) · Brampton Guardian — "Meet the 12 candidates running for mayor of Brampton Oct. 26" (Aug 31, 2026) · The Local — Brampton Mayoral Candidates · Inside Halton (Metroland) — "Ontario municipal election 2026: Mayoral races to watch" · Wikipedia — 2026 Brampton municipal election (candidate notes, endorsements, withdrawals) · CBC News — "Patrick Brown seeking 3rd term as Brampton mayor" (Jul 28, 2026) · CBC News — "Venue shortages and city growth take centre stage at Brampton mayoral town hall" · The Pointer — "He's 'Allergic to transparency': Brampton mayoral challengers slam Patrick Brown for no-show at debates" (Oct 6, 2026) · The Pointer — "'Announcements aren't beds': mayoral candidates slam Patrick Brown … missing second hospital" (Oct 4, 2026) · The Pointer — "Brampton mayoral candidate Wesley Jackson is a man with big ideas" (Sep 25, 2026) · The Brampton Voice — "Brown misses two Brampton mayoral debates ahead of Oct. 26 election" · Wesley Jackson for Mayor — "Outline of my campaign, Ballot Talk 2026" · The Local — Debate Tracker (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton) · Vote Patrick Brown — campaign website · Wikipedia — Brampton (2021 census population)
- Compiled from certified candidate data and cited news coverage · last updated October 15, 2026 · not affiliated with the City of Brampton or AMO.
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| Gaurav Walia | 🔎 Computer engineer. The Guardian reported no contact info, website or social media known for him, and Wikipedia notes he shares a name with — and may be the same person as — the People's Party of Canada candidate for Brampton East in the 2019 federal election. Platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Gurdeep Singh Dhothar | 🔎 Did not list contact information in their registration and did not make themselves available to The Brampton Guardian. Platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Jagruti Bhatt | 🔎 Registered campaigner; The Brampton Guardian reported she did not respond when asked for her platform. On health care: "I would have made Brampton's Second Hospital a standing public priority, not an announcement that disappears when the cameras leave," and would bring provincial officials, council and local representatives together to demand confirmed funding, milestones and an opening date. Otherwise, platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Najma Khurramma | 🔎 The Brampton Guardian reported very little information online and no response to its candidate survey. Platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Nathaniel Peart | 🔎 Child and youth worker · The Brampton Guardian reported very little information online about him. Attended the Oct. 6 Better Brampton mayoral debate; platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Patrick Brown Incumbent Elected 2022 · Mayor (59.6%) | 🔎 Mayor since 2018 · seeking a third term · Canada's seventh-largest city by population. Background: a former MP for Barrie who became leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and resigned in 2018 after CTV News published sexual-misconduct allegations from two women linked to his time as an MP — allegations he categorically denied — before winning Brampton's mayor's office later that year. He ran in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race but was disqualified following allegations his campaign violated campaign-finance rules; investigations never led to charges, and he won his second mayoral term shortly after. He filed to seek a third term on July 28, 2026 (CBC News — "Patrick Brown seeking 3rd term as Brampton mayor" (Jul 28, 2026)). Record claims: campaigns on $9.4 billion secured for Brampton projects — a figure challengers publicly disputed as misleading or unattributable to him. Endorsements: LiUNA Local 183, LiUNA Local 506 and the Peel Regional Police Association. At the Sept. 15 arts forum he pitched more venues — "Brampton is booked every single weekend. Our parks are full, our venues are full" — then left after two questions. Did not attend the Oct. 5 Board of Trade or Oct. 6 Better Brampton debates; The Pointer asked why and he did not respond (The Pointer — "He's 'Allergic to transparency': Brampton mayoral challengers slam Patrick Brown for no-show at debates" (Oct 6, 2026)). Campaign: votepatrickbrown.com · 📧 patrick@votepatrickbrown.com |
| Paul Tarriwal | 🔎 Real-estate agent in Brampton since 2011. Campaign statement: "A realtor sees what a city's decisions actually do to people. Every zoning delay, every tax increase, every transit gap shows up in his week." Says the city is "in desperate need of investment" and calls downtown Riverwalk "a goldmine that needs to be unlocked" once the flood-protection project (construction begun 2025, completion slated 2028) corrects the floodplain. Argued Brown's $9.4-billion claim "wasn't his," with much of the funding from other governments or prior councils, or not yet guaranteed. Attended the Sept. 15 arts forum and Oct. 5–6 debates. |
| Prabh Gill | 🔎 Family law mediator and arbitrator who works on human-rights cases. Would commission a forensic audit of the hospital levy — "I need to know where the money is going, or where the money … went" — and publish a quarterly public dashboard tracking the project's cost, milestones and every dollar that leaves reserve accounts. Asked Brown to commit to serving a full four-year term rather than leaving for a federal leadership run. Endorsement: withdrawn mayoral candidate Avi Dhaliwal. Attended the Oct. 6 Better Brampton debate. |
| Prabhjot Kaur Sidhu | 🔎 No contact info, website or social media known; did not make herself available to The Brampton Guardian for a survey. Platform not published in the coverage compiled here. |
| Sandeep Somal | 🔎 Works for a non-profit organization; founder of Project Skate Hockey Club, a community hockey non-profit for low-income and racialized youth. Warned about the funding cliff for the Brampton Arts Organization, whose five-year operating agreement expires in 2028 — "it's important to continue that funding and the partnership with BAO." Challenged Brown's $9.4-billion investment claim as misleading and urged voters to read the debate absences as a warning about accountability. On health care, says a second hospital alone won't fix the system — staffing, patient flow, primary and after-care also need attention — and commits to keeping the 1% hospital levy. Campaign: sandeepsomalformayor.ca |
| Vidya Sagar Gautam Ran 2022 · Mayor (1.6%) | 🔎 Background in science, engineering and management · a perennial Brampton candidate. Prior runs: mayor in 2022 (1,398 votes, about 1.6%), regional council in Wards 1 and 5, and candidate for Region of Peel chair in 2018 before that election was cancelled by the province and the chair returned to an appointed role. He attended the Oct. 6 Better Brampton debate; otherwise his published 2026 platform was not found in the coverage compiled here. 📧 vsgautam@hotmail.com · Social media: Facebook, Instagram, X |
| Wesley Jackson | 🔎 Real-estate attorney; a Brampton lawyer for 23 years · ran for mayor in 2018. Platform: top priorities are keeping Brampton affordable "by respecting every tax dollar," making basic services work (roads, traffic, parks, recreation, by-law enforcement, community safety) and building infrastructure the growth demands — "completing our second hospital, planning for a third, and advancing reliable transit." Ten-point anti-corruption procurement plan modelled on Montreal and Toronto, centred on an independent auditor general. Land value audit, long-term leases, co-operative housing investment and "housing money in lieu of parkland" to build needed housing. Health-care strategy beyond Peel Memorial: incentives for doctors to set up practices in Brampton, better paramedic resources, expanded Wheel-Trans-style transport to Credit Valley Hospital and wider use of pharmacists for frontline care. Endorsements: former city councillors Jeff Bowman and Doug Whillans, former regional councillor John Sanderson, and former Brampton Board of Trade president F. Charles Waud. Campaign: wesleyjackson.ca · Wesley Jackson for Mayor — "Outline of my campaign, Ballot Talk 2026" · 📧 mayorwes@outlook.com |
| Idris Orughu Ran 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 1, 5 | 🔎 |
| Paul Vicente Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 1, 5 | 🔎 |
| Steven Lee Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 1, 5 | 🔎 |
| Pooja Walia | 🔎 |
| Amit Dutta | 🔎 |
| Gagandeep Singh Atwal | 🔎 |
| Khimani Williams | 🔎 |
| Romolo Tantalo | 🔎 |
| Rowena Santos Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 1, 5 | 🔎 |
| Tajinder Singh Bhinder | 🔎 |
| Tejpal Sidhu | 🔎 |
| Tracy Ann Pepe | 🔎 |
| Staceyann Brooks | 🔎 |
| Michael Paul Palleschi Incumbent | 🔎 |
| Parth Sharma | 🔎 |
| Prempal Gill | 🔎 |
| Romy Dogra | 🔎 |
| Sameer Tandon | 🔎 |
| Ajaib Singh Sran | 🔎 |
| Julie Luckasavitch | 🔎 |
| Amir Khawaja Hassan | 🔎 |
| Carmen Wilson Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 2, 6 | 🔎 |
| Gurpreet Pabla | 🔎 |
| Jermaine Chambers Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 2, 6 | 🔎 |
| Keval Shah | 🔎 |
| Navjit Kaur Brar Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 2, 6 | 🔎 |
| Raghav Dhir | 🔎 |
| Rakesh Singh Thakur | 🔎 |
| Yadvinder Deswal | 🔎 |
| Martin Medeiros Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 3, 4 | 🔎 |
| Sandeep Kumar Goel | 🔎 |
| Manmeet Singh Choudhary | 🔎 |
| Navneet Singh Lotey | 🔎 |
| Dennis Keenan Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 3, 4 | 🔎 |
| Gita Devi Dawadi Dhakal | 🔎 |
| Ajit Seerha | 🔎 |
| Jugraj Singh Khinda | 🔎 |
| Kaniki Karine Mujinga | 🔎 |
| Santokh Randhawa | 🔎 |
| Aman Sharma | 🔎 |
| Anil Sahajpal | 🔎 |
| Rod Power Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 7, 8 | 🔎 |
| Vedaant Vyas | 🔎 |
| Christopher Soranno | 🔎 |
| Cynthia Sri Pragash Ran 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 7, 8 | 🔎 |
| Monica Singh Soares | 🔎 |
| Nayan Brahmbhatt | 🔎 |
| Rakesh Sharma | 🔎 |
| Ripudaman Singh Dhillon Ran 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 7, 8 | 🔎 |
| Ali Khan | 🔎 |
| Ayanna Kahlon | 🔎 |
| Taran Chahal | 🔎 |
| Gurpreet Singh Dhillon | 🔎 |
| Nirmala Devi Madhu | 🔎 |
| Satpaul Singh Johal | 🔎 |
| Gregory Miller | 🔎 |
| Gurpreet K. Dhillon | 🔎 |
| Harsimran Singh | 🔎 |
| Michael Dancy Ran 2022 · Councillor (Regional And City), Ward 7, 8 | 🔎 |
| Prabhjot Singh Dhaliwal | 🔎 |
| Sukhman Sangha | 🔎 |
| Azad Goyat | 🔎 |
| Harkirat Singh Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 9, 10 | 🔎 |
| Jagdish Singh Grewal Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 9, 10 | 🔎 |
| Janice Gordon-Daniels Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 9, 10 | 🔎 |
| Kamran Hassan | 🔎 |
| Baljinder Singh Nehal | 🔎 |
| Cheryl Rodricks Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 7, 8 | 🔎 |
| Sandeep Kumar | 🔎 |
🎙 Debates & forums
Three head-to-head mayoral events took place in September and October 2026, none hosted by the City; The Local — Debate Tracker (Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton). The defining storyline was Mayor Brown's absences. Arts & Culture Issues Forum (Sept 15 · Springdale Library): co-hosted by the Brampton Arts Organization, Brampton Library and CBC News and moderated by CBC Peel's Nav Nanwa, this was the first head-to-head mayoral appearance of the season; Brown confirmed attendance on the day and left after answering two questions, leaving challengers Somal, Jackson, Tarriwal and Gill to take the remaining panel rounds. Brampton Board of Trade / Y Media debate (Oct 5 · pre-recorded): pre-recorded for broadcast by Y Media and closed to the public; candidates say they waited until roughly 1:30–1:45 p.m. for Brown before deciding to proceed without him, and the Board of Trade noted his absence at the start. "Better Brampton" debate (Oct 6 · Royal Palm): Prabh Gill, Wesley Jackson, Paul Tarriwal, Vidya Sagar Gautam and Nathaniel Peart appeared; The Pointer described "an empty chair and a sign that read, 'Mayor Patrick Brown'" for the absent incumbent. Challengers said they had come with questions on housing wait times, the Argo transit deal, the $9.4-billion claim and Brown's plans if re-elected (The Brampton Voice — "Brown misses two Brampton mayoral debates ahead of Oct. 26 election").
🗞 On the radar — local coverage
- 2026 Brampton election: Meet the candidates for wards 2 and 6 regional councillor
- Brampton 2026 municipal election advance voting opens Oct. 9
- 2026 Brampton election: Meet the candidates running for mayor
- Who gets your vote? PDSB candidates in Brampton Wards 1 and 5
- Get ready for a flood of election signs as campaign restrictions ease in Brampton
- Third union endorses Patrick Brown in lead-up to Brampton election
- Extra early voting day added to boost voter turnout in Brampton
- What to know before you vote in the upcoming Brampton election