Doug Ford poised to call byelections in Scarborough and York Region

While there had been four officially approved candidates listed on the PC website vying to carry the Tory banner, only three were on the ballot after the mysterious departure of accountant Murshed Nizam.

The PC party refused to comment on what happened and Nizam’s campaign did not return messages seeking comment.

Tarun, the federal Conservative candidate in Scarborough Southwest in last year’s election, defeated social worker Ayesha Sardar and human relations project manager Gazi Sijan.

“A dedicated family physician and respected community leader, Dr. Tarun will be a strong advocate for Scarborough Southwest as we continue delivering our plan to grow the economy, lower costs for families and keep our communities safe from crime,” Ford said in a statement.

The New Democratic candidate is tenant advocate Fatima Shaban, who hopes to succeed three-term NDP MPP Doly Begum, who is now the riding’s MP after defecting to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals.

Shaban was the federal NDP candidate in that April 13 byelection, receiving 5.9 per cent of the vote to Begum’s 69.6 per cent.

New Democrats are hopeful their now-Liberal ex-colleague stays neutral in the provincial byelection that Ford is expected to call within days.

But the Ontario Liberals are fielding Ahsanul Hafiz, owner of 30 Domino’s pizza outlets and a big help to Begum in her federal byelection campaign.

Like Begum and Tarun, Hafiz is a member of the riding’s thriving Bangladeshi-Canadian community while Shaban is the daughter of a Slovakian mother and Egyptian father.

Hafiz toppled one-time provincial Liberal leadership hopeful Nate Erskine-Smith, then the Grit MP from neighbouring Beaches—East York, in a May nomination that Ford derided for seeming chaotic. (Erskine-Smith’s appeal of the results was rejected by the Liberal party.)

“I find it amazing the Liberals can’t even run a nomination and they want to run the government,” the premier said at the time, boasting his party was “more organized.”

On Thursday night, the opposition Liberals fired back with a digital billboard truck parked outside the Danforth Road plaza where the PC nomination was being held to greet voters.

“Doug Ford Doesn’t Care About Scarborough,” said one sign on the truck.

“While you were paying more for groceries, Doug Ford was using your money to buy himself a $28.9 million private jet,” said another, referring to the premier’s April purchase and quick panicked sale of Bombardier Challenger 650 executive jet.

Unamused, the Tories threatened to call the police if the vehicle wasn’t moved so the Liberals had it circling the block during the meeting.

The other vacant provincial seat is in York-Simcoe after former minister Caroline Mulroney resigned last month.

Ford appointed East Gwillimbury town councillor Susan Lahey to be the Tory candidate there, one of the safest PC seats in Ontario.

The votes are expected to be held next month.