Brampton’s downtown left in limbo amid ward boundary review

With Brampton’s city centre merged across two wards under the municipality’s current system of geographic representation by council there has long been ambiguity over planning, resource allocation and how the city wants to define the future growth of its downtown.

This past fall a “Ward Boundary Review” was discussed by council members, and City staff proposed options for realigning the wards, defined as “the geographical division of the city for administrative and political purposes.”

During the proceedings, Gurpartap Singh Toor, the councillor who represents wards 9 and 10, inquired about the possibility of consolidating downtown Brampton into a single ward. He pointed out that four different councillors are currently responsible for the city centre, and pointed out the governance chaos this disarrangement creates.

"I believe that our downtown Brampton, the four corners, is represented by four councilors, which, you know, when you look at the city in its entirety, it's sort of disproportionate to have one area completely be represented by four different councilors," he said.

"I was hoping to see some change in that where the downtown would at least be within one ward."

In response, Sahwnica Hans, a program manager in the City Clerk’s office, explained that while the idea of aligning downtown Brampton into a single ward was considered and included as an appendix in the report before council, it failed to meet the review criteria due to the challenge of creating clean, physical boundaries, specifically between Wards 1 and 3.

"It was one of the options that we did present during our meetings with members of the council, and it has been included as one of the appendices within the report," she told council members.

"The challenge that we have is that we're not meeting all of the review criteria when we try to contain the downtown within one ward."

"When we looked at the downtown area, just carving out the downtown into one ward, it sort of left not a nice, very clean line between wards one and three," Hans continued.

She informed council members that while it might be a subject of discussion, this is not an actual option staff were considering based on the review they undertook.

Downtown Brampton, a hub for businesses and cultural heritage, faces challenges due to its unclear boundaries. This ambiguity complicates political representation and negatively impacts local businesses by affecting their visibility, access to resources and opportunities for growth within a more defined city center that could be more effectively promoted, if there was a clearly understood identity to promote.

In a written response to The Pointer, Tamana Sharma, owner of three local restaurants (Ryan’s Chai, Trish Juice, and Nitro Cow) in downtown Brampton, emphasized how the undefined boundary directly impacts her ability to attract consistent foot traffic and establish a strong connection between her business and the downtown core. She says a crafted boundary for downtown could not only improve marketing efforts but also create a more cohesive and thriving business environment.

“This (lack of clear physical downtown boundary) makes it harder to market the area effectively to residents, visitors, and potential investors," she said.

Tamana Sharma, owner of Ryan’s Chai, Trish Juice, and Nitro Cow in downtown Brampton, shared her concerns about the impact of undefined boundaries on local businesses.

(Submitted)

"For businesses like ours, this translates to a challenge in attracting consistent foot traffic and building a strong brand association with the downtown core. A well-defined boundary could foster a stronger sense of community and pride, making downtown Brampton a more recognizable destination."

Sharma stated that the uneven distribution of resources and investments in Brampton has hindered downtown businesses, limiting access to infrastructure improvements, promotional initiatives and essential amenities like sufficient parking and transit designations, putting area owners at a disadvantage compared to outer parts of the city where people naturally gravitate to because of Brampton’s car-centred suburban design. Subdivisions, with their nearby highway access and giant parking lots ringed by franchise establishments have long been the overriding identity many associate Brampton with.

“In my experience, resources and investments often appear unevenly distributed between downtown Brampton and other parts of the city. This has affected my business by limiting access to key infrastructure improvements and promotional initiatives,” she wrote.

“For example, while some areas of Brampton receive substantial beautification and development funding, downtown businesses face challenges such as aging infrastructure and insufficient parking. Equitable resource allocation could significantly enhance the business environment downtown.”

Sharma voiced concerns over segregated political representation, stating that having multiple councillors represent downtown Brampton weakens accountability and makes it harder to address critical issues like economic revitalization, safety and badly needed infrastructure.

“Having multiple councillors represent downtown Brampton can dilute the focus on specific issues affecting this area,” she told The Pointer.

“It often feels like no single representative is fully accountable for advocating on behalf of downtown businesses. This fragmented representation can make it harder to address pressing concerns like economic revitalization, safety, and public infrastructure.”

She suggested that unifying downtown Brampton into a single ward would improve advocacy and decision-making by enabling a dedicated councillor to focus on its unique challenges and foster stronger business partnerships.

“Consolidating downtown into a single ward could bring more cohesive advocacy and streamlined decision-making for local businesses,” Sharma emphasized.

“A dedicated councilor could focus on the unique challenges of downtown Brampton and work collaboratively with business owners to develop tailored solutions. This could foster stronger relationships between businesses and local government, leading to more targeted support and investments.”

Brampton, is a vibrant city with an estimated population of 827,000 in 2024, reflecting the hyper growth that has seen the city quadruple in size over the past few decades. The last ward boundary review was conducted nearly 11 years ago, prior to the 2014 municipal elections. Since then, Brampton has not initiated any comprehensive review to adjust the ward boundaries, despite significant population growth in certain areas in recent years.

To create a fairer and more equitable distribution of the population, staff proposed two options for ward boundary realignment during the fall council meeting. Hans explained the methodology to the council members, noting that the process began by dividing Brampton into two halves along Highway 410, which established a clear geographic division. For each side, west and east, staff developed two separate options, considering factors such as population variance and other review criteria. These options were combined into four comprehensive proposals included in the report for council discussion.

"Our approach began with dividing the city in half vertically along the 410; we created two options for the west side of the city and two options for the east side of the city," she stated.

According to the proposed boundary realignment options by Hans, on the west side, option 1 proposes a significant reduction in the boundary of Ward 6, merging its area into Wards 4, 5, and 2, which will result in these three wards' expansion. These adjustments keep the population variance within the acceptable thresholds of 25 percent for individual wards and 15 percent for ward pairings to ensure a balanced representation across the boundaries.

Proposed boundary realignment options: East side (left) with adjustments to Wards 7, 8, 9, and 10; West side (right) showing significant changes to Wards 4, 5, and 6.

(City of Brampton)

Option 2 for the west side proposes that Wards 1, 2, and 3 remain the same as in the previous option, while 6 is significantly reduced, with Ward 5 extending north to Sandalwood and Ward 4 taking over the southern portion of Ward 6. Contrary to the west side, option 1 of the east side focuses on smaller yet significant adjustments. These include moving the southern part of Ward 10, south of Castlemore Road, into Ward 8 and refining the boundaries between Ward 7 and 8. The proposed option 2 for the east side also involves minimal adjustments. While the boundaries of Wards 9 and 10 remain the same as those of the previous one, the key change is between Wards 7 and 8, where Torbram Road is proposed as the new boundary, to define the separation between the two wards clearly.

After proposing these four preferred options from the west and east sides of Brampton, Hans showed a slide in a presentation that depicted the whole outlook of the city after merging these boundary alignments. The staff first moved a slide where they joined Option 1 (from the West and East sides) and Option 2 (from the West and East sides).

Both Ward 2 and 6 Brampton Councilors, Navjit Kaur Brar and Michael Palleschi, supported adopting option 2 for the city.

"I think we're losing the most out of anyone. We're not gaining anything," Brar commented on the proposal.

"When you look at all of the wards, two and six are probably two of the biggest wards, and I think we are the only ones that are losing our area, and honestly holding on to things, honestly we do understand that for the betterment of the community."

Dennis Keenan, a Ward 3 and 4 councillor, supported option 1. Therefore, options 1 and 2 were identified as preferred ward boundary options to put forward for public comment.

The ward boundary review has already undergone public consultation to ensure community voices are heard.

The public feedback was gathered through in-person engagements and print and online communications over four weeks.

During the council meeting on December 11, city staff shared the results of the Ward Boundary Review (WBR) survey, which received responses from a total of 370 Brampton residents. Eight residents proposed their own options for ward boundary realignment. The survey indicated that 365 of the respondents reside in Brampton, with 63 percent having lived in the city for more than 15 years. Additionally, 135 respondents work in Brampton, and 84 percent reported owning property in the city.

According to the survey review criteria, 120 residents identified "effective representation" as the most important factor for them. Meanwhile, 94 respondents prioritized "protection of established neighbourhoods and communities" as their top priority for evaluation. Additionally, 57 residents favoured criteria based on population.

The majority of the survey respondents identified Option 1 as the most accurate and balanced choice for representing the city, as 192 voted in favour, whereas 110 preferred Option 2 as a suitable design for the city, and 68 voters had “no preference.”

While the city is focusing on these options, the fate of Brampton’s struggling downtown remains uncertain.

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