Won't you be my neighbour?

I hope this message finds you safe and warm. Winter has hit hard these past weeks, and global news has hit even harder. Between the frigid temperatures and record snowfall, Toronto is still digging itself out from the largest winter storm in our city's history--and the snowiest January to boot!  It's been a challenge, but as always our community has pulled together: shoveling sidewalks for seniors, helping neighbours dig out cars and laneways, and bringing those in need to warming shelters. It's mutual care and generosity such as this that strengthens our communities and helps builds our resilience. We see this in the example of our Minnesota neighbours, who have shown up bravely day after day in the depths of winter to protect their communities from the ICE threat. To stand against authoritarianism and white supremacy and try to help one another--as Renée Good and Alex Pretti heroically did--even to their very last breath.  American journalist Ana Marie Cox wrote last week on how Minnesota's longstanding tradition of mutual aid enabled its rapid mobilization against ICE--building the community connections, response networks and habits of helping that have been essential to their response. As she says, "truly resilient communities don’t arise out of an emergency. They come together before that through a thousand little acts on a regular basis." So in the weeks and months ahead, let's keep coming together as a community, both in joyful times and times of hardship. Because it's these connections more than anything that will help us protect one another--and our democracy. Click on the video below for my further thoughts on events in the US, their connection to Ontario politics and what we can all be doing to better help our neighbours:

With warmth and gratitude, Alexa

Kicking Off 2026 in Parkdale—High Park

Happy New Year, Parkdale—High Park! With the start of the new year comes a lot of exciting things ahead. Our constituency office reopened last week, and my team and I are back and ready to serve and support our community. As you may have heard, the upcoming legislative session has been pushed back by an additional six weeks and will now resume on March 23. While the Ford government may be on vacation, we’ll be right here in Parkdale—High Park, continuing to work on the issues that matter most to this community. From my community skate parties to advocacy for tenants, women in the workplace, and the environment, here’s a sneak peek at some of what we have planned in the months ahead:

Community Skate Party — Save the Date! Keep an eye out for an upcoming announcement about my Community Skate Party on February 20 and 22. As winter winds down, join me for a chance to get outside and enjoy the season while it lasts—with free skating and hot chocolate. I hope to see you there! Feb. 20th at Rennie Park Rink - 4-8 pm Feb. 22nd at High Park Rink - 12-6pm

Tenant Meetings & Town Halls: During this legislative break, I’ll be holding tenant meetings and town halls across our riding to hear directly from tenants about the housing issues that matter most to them. These conversations are an important opportunity to connect, share information, and ensure tenant voices are heard and brought back to Queen’s Park in March.

Environment: Join me on January 27 as I moderate a timely and urgent discussion on Extreme Wildfire Events in Urban Environments, alongside environmental advocates Peter Tabuns (MPP, Toronto–Danforth), Dr. Anabela Bonado, and John Vaillant. You can register to attend HERE. For more details, scroll down to view the event poster.

Women’s Advocacy: Building on Phase 1 of the Women in the Workforce Plan, I’ll be continuing to advance conversations and advocacy around women’s rights in the workplace. More details on upcoming engagements will be rolled out soon.

As always, thank you for staying engaged and connected. I look forward to seeing many of you out in the community in the weeks ahead. With warmth and gratitude, Alexa

End of Summer Wrap-Up

It’s the first day of school! I want to wish all our Parkdale—High Park students, teachers, and families a fantastic school year filled with learning, discovery and fun.   This past weekend, my team and I handed out over 300 backpacks and school supply sets at our office’s annual Back to School Fair. Watching kids’ faces light up, I was reminded of the wonderful sense of possibility back to school brings. It should be a time of excitement, not worry. But the Ford government’s relentless attacks on our public schools are taking away students’ supports and families’ peace of mind. Parents of special needs kids are increasingly frightened to send their kids to schools with inadequate staffing and resources. In our own riding, I’ve heard from many parents distressed by the loss of invaluable EAs and support staff in their kids’ classrooms. It’s a direct result of Ford’s $6.36 billion cuts to public schools since 2018. And now, instead of funding our schools, the Ford government wants to police them.

In June, the Ministry of Education took over Toronto school boards and shut out our democratically elected trustees, robbing our community of its voice. They’ve placed the Toronto District School board under the full control of Ford-appointed Rohit Gupta, a former Metrolinx advisor who lacks any experience in public education. Meanwhile, our democratically elected school board trustees have been locked out of their TDSB emails and phones and ordered not to engage with families or students. (Add your name to tell the Minister this is not okay.) It's all part of a larger power grab. Education Minister Paul Calandra has recently said that the government is considering eliminating all democratically elected school board trustees province-wide. The announcement comes as Conservatives gear up to pass Bill 33, Supporting Students and Children Act, which will give them greater power to take over school boards.