Neethan Shan
நீதன் ஷான்
Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 17 Scarborough Centre
Assumed office
June 22, 2022
Preceded byDavid Smith
Toronto City Councillor
for Ward 42 Scarborough—Rouge River
In office
February 13, 2017 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byRaymond Cho
Succeeded byWard dissolved
Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 21 Scarborough—Rouge River
In office
January 25, 2016 – February 13, 2017
Preceded byShaun Chen
Succeeded byAbdul Hai Patel
York Region District School Board Trustee for Wards 7 and 8
In office
December 1, 2006 – November 30, 2010
Succeeded byJuanita Nathan
Personal details
Born
Neethan Shanmugarajah

(1978-12-24) December 24, 1978
Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
CitizenshipCanadian
Political partyNew Democratic
Other political
affiliations		Independent[note 1] (2017–2018) Liberal Party of Canada (2003-2007)
SpouseThadsha Navaneethan
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (BSc, 2001)
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (BEd, 2003; MEd, 2012)
Occupation
  • Youth worker
  • politician
Websiteneethanshan.ca

Neethan Shanmugarajah (Neethan Shan) (Tamil: நீதன் சண்முகராஜா, romanized: Nītaṉ Caṇmukarājā; born December 24, 1978), is a Canadian politician who represented Ward 42 Scarborough—Rouge River on Toronto City Council from February 2017 to November 2018. Shan was the first Tamil Canadian to sit on Toronto's City Council. Shan is currently the Vice-Chair of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Shan was elected to the TDSB in 2016 and again in 2022. Shan has sought public office 13 times since 2003; 8 of which were municipally and provincially, 5. He won 4 times: YRDSB Trustee in 2006, TDSB Trustee in 2016, Toronto City Councillor in 2017 and TDSB Trustee in 2022.

Early life and family

Shan was born on December 24, 1978, in Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.[1] His father was from Neduntivu and his mother from Analaitivu.[2][3] He moved to Canada as a refugee in 1995 aged 16.[1][2][4]

Shan is married to Thaadsha Navaneethan and has two sons.[4][5]

Education and early career

Shan completed an honours bachelor of science (BSc) from the University of Toronto in 2001 and a bachelor of education (BEd) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in 2003.[1][5][6] He later received a master of education (MEd) in sociology and equity studies in education from OISE in 2012.[6]

Shan began his career as a youth outreach worker in Malvern, Toronto.[3][7] In 2001, aged 22, he became executive director of Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CanTYD), a social service agency.[6] He then became manager of youth programs at Malvern Family Resource Centre.[6][8][9] In 2007 he became executive director of Council of Agencies Serving South Asians.[1][6]

Shan was vice-chair of the National Council of Canadian Tamils and chair of the Tamil Heritage Month Committee, which he founded in 2009.[2][4][10] He has served numerous other community groups including Better Ballot Initiative; Boreal Institute for Civil Society (project director); Canadian Tamil Congress; Community Use of Schools Council; Malvern Community Coalition; Parent Action on Drugs (project coordinator); Scarborough Youth Task Group; Tsunami Relief Coordinating Committee; and the Youth Gang Work Group.[1][6] He is also involved with Canadian Multicultural Radio and Tamil Vision International.[1][3][6]

Political career

Public school trustee

Shan unsuccessfully ran for York Region District School Board (YRDSB) public school trustee for wards 7 and 8 in the 2003 Markham elections.[1][11] He was later elected to the school board following the 2006 Markham election.[1][12]

In January 2016, Shan was elected in a by-election to be the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) public school trustee for Ward 21 Scarborough—Rouge River.[13] Shan assumed the trustee seat for Ward 17 in June 2022 after David Smith became the MPP for Scarborough Centre.[14]

Provincial politics

Shan took a leave of absence from the YRDSB to run in the 2007 provincial election as the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate in Scarborough—Guildwood but failed to get elected and returned to the school board.[1][15] He sought the Scarborough—Rouge River seat in the 2011 Ontario general election.[1][16]

In April 2012, Shan was elected president of the Ontario New Democratic Party.[1][2][17]

Shan ran in the 2014 Ontario general election as the NDP's candidate in Scarborough—Rouge River.[1] He contested the Ontario provincial by-election in Scarborough—Rouge River held in September 2016 as the NDP's candidate but again failed to get elected.[18]

Shan was nominated as the Ontario New Democratic Party candidate in the provincial riding of Scarborough Centre for the 2022 Ontario general election, but again failed to win.

Toronto City Councillor

Shan ran in the 2010 Toronto election as a candidate for Ward 42 Scarborough—Rouge River on Toronto City Council but failed to get elected.[1][19] He ran again in the 2014 Toronto municipal election.[1][20]

In February 2017, following the resignation of Councillor Raymond Cho, the Scarborough—Rouge River seat became vacant. Running in the subsequent by-election and was elected to Toronto City Council,[21][22] becoming the first Tamil Canadian to serve on the council.[4][21] He ran for re-election in the 2018 municipal election in the new Ward 25 Scarborough—Rouge Park after the province aligned Toronto's 44 wards to match the federal and provincial electoral divisions. He was ultimately defeated by newcomer Jennifer McKelvie by 154 votes.[23]

Electoral record

Ontario Legislative Assembly

Ontario provincial by-election, September 1, 2016: Scarborough—Rouge River
Resignation of Bas Balkissoon
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeRaymond Cho9,64438.58+10.92
LiberalPiragal Thiru7,25728.91-9.79
New DemocraticNeethan Shan6,90527.40-3.91
IndependentQueenie Yu5752.32
GreenPriyan De Silva2160.86-0.51
LibertarianAllen Small1460.58
None of the AboveAbove Znoneofthe1330.54-0.42
FreedomWayne Simmons590.30
People's Political PartyDwight McLean450.22
PauperJohn Turmel370.15
TrilliumAnia Krosinska360.14
Total valid votes 25,182100.00
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +10.36
"Vote Totals Report from Official Tabulation (F0243) - 2016 By-election Scarborough-Rouge River (083)". Elections Ontario. p. 7.
2014 Ontario general election: Scarborough—Rouge River
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBas Balkissoon16,09538.71-3.17
New DemocraticNeethan Shan13,01931.31-4.66
Progressive ConservativeRaymond Cho11,50027.66+8.87
GreenGeorge B. Singh5711.37+0.12
None of the AboveAmir Khan3980.96
Total valid votes 41,583100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 4791.14
Turnout 42,06247.48
Eligible voters 88,592
Liberal hold Swing +0.75
"Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate - June 12, 2014 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
2011 Ontario general election: Scarborough—Rouge River
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalBas Balkissoon15,23741.87-23.18
New DemocraticNeethan Shan13,08835.97+22.29
Progressive ConservativeKen Kim6,83718.79+4.32
LibertarianFelix Liao4571.26-0.16
GreenGeorge Singh4551.25-2.47
Family CoalitionRaphael Rosch1660.46-1.20
FreedomDaniel Walker1500.41 
Total valid votes 36,390 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 2150.59
Turnout 36,60542.89
Eligible voters 85,338
Liberal hold Swing -22.73
"Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate - October 16, 2011 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-06.
2007 Ontario general election: Scarborough-Guildwood
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMargarett Best14,43042.52-10.03
Progressive ConservativeGary Grant9,50328.00-1.99
New DemocraticNeethan Shan7,44121.93+9.23
GreenGlenn Kitchen1,8115.34
LibertarianSam Apelbaum4841.43
Family CoalitionDaniel Carvalho2670.79
Total valid votes 33,936 100.0
Difference 4,927 14.52
Total rejected ballots 3761.10
Turnout 34,312 51.28
  Liberal notional hold Swing -4.02
"Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate - October 10, 2007 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. xxiii. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2017.

Toronto City Council

Toronto City Council election, 2018
Ward 25 (Scarborough—Rouge Park)[24]
CandidateVotes%
Jennifer McKelvie11,62440.21%
Neethan Shan11,47039.68%
Paul Cookson1,8976.56%
Amanda Cain8312.87%
Cheryl Lewis-Thurab6382.21%
Reza Khoshdel5481.90%
Daniel Cubellis5271.82%
Christopher Riley4561.58%
Joseph Thomas4281.48%
Jasper Ghori3371.17%
Dave Madder1510.52%
Total10,432100.00%
Toronto City Council by-election, February 13, 2017
Ward 42 (Scarborough—Rouge River)[25]
CandidateVotes%
Neethan Shan4,76545.68%
Zuhair Syed1,45213.92%
Hratch Aynedjian1,05810.14%
Dipika Patel4744.54%
Punch Sockalingam4163.99%
Bev Dixon3543.39%
Knia Singh3243.11%
Kingsley Kwok3223.09%
Sarah Chung2412.31%
Ferduse Bari2202.11%
Virginia Jones1571.51%
David Nissan1051.01%
Amanda Cain960.92%
Randy Washington710.68%
Stella Kargiannakis690.66%
Sohum Prashar330.32%
Mark Balack300.29%
John Kladitis300.29%
Mohammad Shabani300.29%
Deborah Dale290.28%
Khamy Ganeshathasan270.26%
Kevin Clarke250.24%
Sandeep Srivastava240.23%
Jobin Jose180.17%
Chai Kalevar140.13%
Arthur Smitherman140.13%
Elizabeth Huff110.11%
Aasia Khatoon60.06%
Tebat Kadhem30.03%
Total10,432100.00%
Toronto City Council election, 2014
Ward 42 (Scarborough—Rouge River)[26]
CandidateVotes%
Raymond Cho11,76849.46%
Neethan Shan7,39331.07%
Ken Jeffers1,0744.51%
Gulam Mohamed1,0484.40%
Neethan Sabaratnam9113.83%
Sherri-Anne Williams5212.19%
Dwayne Chin3631.53%
Kabirul Mollah2791.17%
Somu Mondal2330.98%
Ganesh Kulasegarampillai1070.45%
Venthan Ramana960.40%
Total23,793100.00%
Toronto City Council election, 2010
Ward 42 (Scarborough—Rouge River)[27]
CandidateVotes%
Raymond Cho10,81152.93%
Neethan Shan6,87333.65%
Shamoon Poonawala5862.87%
Mohammed Ather4742.32%
Namu Ponnambalam4432.17%
Ruth Tecle4372.14%
George Singh3531.73%
Leon Saul3231.58%
Venthan Ramanathavavuniyan1250.61%
Total20,425100.00%

Toronto District School Board

Toronto District School Board by-election, January 25, 2016
Ward 21 (Scarborough—Rouge River)[28]
CandidateVotes%
Neethan Shan4,19753.63%
Jack Wang1,25816.07%
Kwesi Johnson4085.21%
George Lin2983.81%
Arjun Sahota2663.40%
Yama Arianfar2553.26%
Noah Ng1842.35%
Sonny Yeung1541.97%
Sharon Kerr1531.96%
Ron McNaughton1461.87%
Piravena Sathiyanantham1211.55%
Aasia Khatoon1031.32%
Kabirul Mollah590.75%
Andy Nguyen430.55%
Simone Si410.52%
Dwight McLean350.45%
Sahl Syed290.37%
Austin Han280.36%
Sandeep Srivastava250.32%
Kuga Kasilingam230.29%
Total7,826100.00%

York Region District School Board

York Region District School Board election, 2006
Area 4 (Wards 7 and 8)[29]
CandidateVotes%
Neethan Shan8,23066.23%
Susie Gotha4,19733.77%
Total12,427100.00%
York Region District School Board election, 2003
Area 4 (Wards 7 and 8)[30]
CandidateVotes%
Tessa Benn-Ireland
Neethan Shan
Kumar Nadarajah
Total

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Smith Cross, Jessica (May 27, 2016). "Profile: The making of the NDP's 'perennial candidate' Neethan Shan". QP Briefing.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eezham Tamil activist Neethan Shan elected President of NDP, Ontario". TamilNet. April 16, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Nathaniel, Camelia (May 18, 2014). "Canada May Be Hoist By Her Own Petard". The Sunday Leader.
  4. 1 2 3 4 DaSilva, Laura (February 24, 2017). "Meet Neethan Shan, Toronto's first Tamil-Canadian councillor". CBC News.
  5. 1 2 "Neethan Shan". The Toronto Star. 2007-08-15. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Neethan Shan Nominated to Represent Ontario NDP in Scarborough Rouge River". Seithy. December 17, 2013.
  7. ↑ Balikssoon, Denise (May 17, 2010). "Malvern group works to get out the October vote". Toronto Star.
  8. ↑ Stuffco, Jered (December 1, 2005). "Man who motivates Malvern gets award". The Globe and Mail.
  9. ↑ "A Community Activist "Stands" for Equitable, Safe, Well-rounded and Community-involved Education". Tamil Canadian. January 3, 2006.
  10. ↑ "Tamil Heritage Month Bill Proposed in Canadian Parliament". TamilNet. February 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ Keung, Nicholas (October 26, 2003). "Tamils finding their niche in Toronto politics". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  12. ↑ "Diaspora Tamil elected councillor in Markham, Canada". TamilNet. November 18, 2006.
  13. ↑ Rushowy, Kristin (2016-01-25). "Union-backed candidate wins TDSB byelection in Scarborough". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  14. ↑ Cohen, Ben (June 2, 2022). "New MPP David Smith continues PC hold on Scarborough Centre". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  15. ↑ Lakey, Jack (October 11, 2007). "Scarborough Guildwood: Best puts foot forward as new MPP". Toronto Star.
  16. ↑ Monsebraaten, Laurie (October 6, 2011). "Balkissoon rolls to win". Toronto Star.
  17. ↑ Regg Cohn, Martin (April 14, 2012). "Cohn: NDP's Andrea Horwath breaks convention and exhorts idea of change". Toronto Star.
  18. ↑ Benzie, Robert (September 1, 2016). "Tory Raymond Cho wins Scarborough-Rouge River byelection". Toronto Star.
  19. ↑ "Results: Toronto mayor and city council". Toronto Star. October 25, 2010.
  20. ↑ Allen, Kate (October 27, 2014). "Raymond Cho reelected in Ward 42, Scarborough—Rouge River". Toronto Star.
  21. 1 2 Powell, Betsy (February 13, 2017). "Neethan Shan wins council seat in Scarborough-Rouge River". Toronto Star.
  22. ↑ Houston, Andrea (2017-02-14). "Neethan Shan is Now a City Councillor, But Will He Stay Put?". Torontoist. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  23. ↑ Hayes, Molly; Friesen, Joe; Gibson, Victoria (2018-10-22). "A look at the 2018 Toronto election results, ward by ward". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  24. ↑ "Clerk's Official Declaration of Results" (PDF). Toronto City Council.
  25. ↑ "February 13, 2017 By-Election 2014 Poll by Poll Results: Councillor Ward 42" (PDF). Toronto City Council.
  26. ↑ "Toronto Election 2014 Poll by Poll Results: Councillor" (PDF). Toronto City Council.
  27. ↑ "2010 Poll by Poll Results: Councillor" (PDF). Toronto City Council.
  28. ↑ "2016 By-election Toronto District School Board Ward 21: Declaration of Results" (PDF). Toronto City Council.
  29. ↑ "York Region District School Board - Ward 7 and 8 - Official Results". Markham City Council.
  30. ↑ "Markham 2003 Municipal Elections: Registered Candidates". Markham City Council. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006.

Notes

  1. ↑ Municipal politicians are elected on a non-partisan basis in Ontario.
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