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INCUMBENT RUNNING

Ward 13

Downtown London: Central London · SoHo · Blackfriars · Kensington Village · part of Oxford Park

ALL-CANDIDATE MEETING
Saturday, September 19, 2026 · 2:00-3:00pm
Central Library (251 Dundas St.)
Urban League of London ↗Organized by a third party, not London Decides. Dates and locations can change.
ON THE BALLOTBISSONBIVIANOCROOKD'AMELIOFERREIRASAIKA-VOIVODSPENCE
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THE SHORT VERSION

Your ward at a glance

Ward 13 is London's downtown ward, with a seven-candidate field: first-term incumbent David Ferreira against six challengers. Nominations closed August 21, 2026; the City certified the list on August 24. The dominant issues are homelessness, core safety and an emptying downtown. Downtown office vacancy was 29.6% as of June 30, 2026, down from 31.5% three months earlier, the biggest quarterly improvement of any downtown market CBRE tracks in Canada: London held the country's emptiest downtown offices through early 2026 and no longer does, though nearly three in ten still sit empty. Council just approved a 10-year, $48-million plan. Council also amended this ward's boundary; what changed couldn't be confirmed, so check the city's map.

One candidate carries a prior election record. David Ferreira, the incumbent, was elected in 2022 by 34 votes over the previous incumbent, per the City's certified results.

The rest of the field, in alphabetical order: Schelley Bisson, Tony Biviano, Andrew Joseph Crook, Stephen D'Amelio, Nicholas Saika-Voivod, and Jari Spence.

THE FIELD

Who's running

Listed alphabetically. Identical treatment for every candidate. That's the deal.

BISSONBIVIANOCROOKD'AMELIOFERREIRASAIKA-VOIVODSPENCE

Schelley Bisson

Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

Tony Biviano

  • 226-235-1584
Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

Andrew Joseph Crook

Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

Stephen D'Amelio

Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

David Ferreira

Incumbent Ward 13 councillor

Elected Ward 13 councillor in 2022 by 34 votes over the previous incumbent, per the City's certified results.

RECORD · 2022–2026 →
Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

Nicholas Saika-Voivod

Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

Jari Spence

  • 705-208-5967
Our questionnaire ◌ GOES OUT AFTER AUG 24

Identical questions go to every declared candidate. Answers are published verbatim; “no response” is reported plainly.

No endorsements · Same rules for every candidate · Sources linked · Answers published word for word · How we research →

WHAT'S AT STAKE

What Ward 13 is wrestling with

Honestly told: the situation, the numbers, and what to ask the people who want your vote.

□ SHARED: CITY + PROVINCE

Homelessness, encampments and service hubs

Ward 13 sits at the centre of London's homelessness response, the Whole of Community System Response: highly-supportive housing, up to 15 low-barrier 24/7 service hubs, and moving people from encampments into shelter. Much of the money runs outside the normal tax-funded budget, and a funding drop is coming as two federal programs end.

The honest numbers ▾

Roughly $2.3 million less is expected for homelessness services starting spring 2026 as two federal programs end. Downtown Master Plan quick-start staff report ↗

Put them on the record

How many of the city's service hubs belong downtown, and how many elsewhere?

■ CITY DECIDES

Feeling safe downtown, and who pays

Downtown London and the London Downtown Business Association jointly told council they "can no longer afford to cover these ever-increasing costs" of private security. BIAs across London report the same pattern: member businesses now rank homelessness, mental health and addiction-related safety concerns above traditional BIA functions. The dollar figures on record are from 2023 and from other BIAs, not a current downtown number.

The honest numbers ▾

Argyle Road BIA spent $25,000/year on private security for three straight years before receiving a $250,000 council top-up (alongside Hamilton Road BIA) in 2023: dated, non-downtown context; no 2025–26 downtown figure was found. CBC News ↗

Put them on the record

Should businesses be paying for private security downtown, and if not, what replaces it?

■ CITY DECIDES

Council can't direct police deployment, but it can direct this

Downtown safety promises run into a wall: council legally cannot direct police deployment. The one enforcement tool it can direct is a City of London special-constable program, answering to city hall rather than the police chief. Council considered hiring 11 of them for downtown, with the question going to a full council vote on July 21, 2026.

The honest numbers ▾

On July 21, 2026, council directed Civic Administration to prepare a report on options for a permanent special-constable program: duties, legislative and regulatory requirements, costs and funding. Discussion explicitly emphasized council was requesting further analysis and was not approving or establishing a program, and touched on the need for consultation with the London Police Service and Police Services Board. Staff's report is expected in the first quarter of 2027, after the October 26 election. City of London — Council Brief, July 21, 2026 ↗

Put them on the record

Council can't direct police deployment, but it can direct special constables, a decision it just sent back for more study rather than approving. Would you push to speed that up, and what would you have them actually do?

■ CITY DECIDES

One dated downtown incident, and no trend behind it

The only downtown security dollar figures on this page are from 2023 and from other BIAs. There is now one dated, police-confirmed incident inside this ward's geography from summer 2026. It is listed because it is checkable, not because one night shows anything about whether downtown is dangerous or whether disorder is rising. Nothing here supports either claim.

The honest numbers ▾

On July 12, 2026, a fireworks incident at Sunfest in Victoria Park escalated into what police called an unlawful assembly. Officers were struck with rocks and bottles. Two London teens, aged 17 and 16, were charged. That is one incident on one evening; London police publish no downtown-level trend data, so there is no honest way to read a direction into it. CBC News ↗

Put them on the record

What would you actually do about downtown safety, and what number would tell you it worked?

■ CITY DECIDES

Empty offices and the $48M plan

Downtown office vacancy was 29.6% as of June 30, 2026, down from 31.5% three months earlier. That is the biggest single-quarter improvement of any downtown office market CBRE tracks in Canada, and it also means nearly three in ten downtown offices are still empty. London held the emptiest downtown office market in the country through early 2026; CBRE's Q2 2026 figures now place London's core below Waterloo Region's, so the "emptiest in Canada" line is no longer true. Council responded in June 2026 with initial approval of a 10-year downtown plan: 58 recommended actions and four "big moves," including a river district, a dedicated city office for downtown services, and public-space investment. A narrower "quick-start" package is already underway, including a grant to fit out vacant commercial space and an office-to-residential conversion program ($35,000/unit forgivable loan).

The honest numbers ▾

Downtown (CBRE's "Core") office vacancy: 29.6%, on data to June 30, 2026. Down from 31.5% in Q1 2026, which was also the Q4 2025 figure, and still above the 27.3% of Q3 2023. The series has not moved in one direction: 27.3% (Q3 2023), 31.4% (Q3 2024), 30.6% (Q3 2025), 31.5% (Q4 2025 and Q1 2026), 29.6% (Q2 2026). Two cautions on numbers that get mixed up: 25.0% is London's whole office market including the suburbs, not downtown; and the quarter's 82,000 sq ft figure is the gain in occupied space in three months, against a downtown office stock of about 4.38 million sq ft. CBRE publishes Q3 2026 figures in mid-October, which will supersede these. Separately, the 10-year downtown plan is projected at $48 million, not yet budgeted (CBC News, June 2026). CBRE Research · London Office Figures Q2 2026 ↗

Put them on the record

Would you fund the $48-million downtown plan in the next budget, and if not, what's your alternative?

□ SHARED: CITY + PROVINCE

Loopholes in London's renoviction rules

London's Rental Unit Repair Licence bylaw (in force March 2025) makes landlords who issue renovation-based eviction notices get permits, prove through professional certification that the unit genuinely must be emptied, and give tenants an information package. Tenant advocates say it lacks protections found in other Ontario cities and has a loophole around demolition-based evictions. A year in, the tenant group ACORN's read is that it has helped, while a city committee weighs changes. With downtown's rental density, this file lands on whoever holds the seat.

The honest numbers ▾

One year on (May 2026): ACORN says the bylaw has worked to slow bad-faith renovictions, and N13 renovation-eviction filings are down overall. But only seven applications for the special Rental Unit Repair Licence had been received since the bylaw took effect, and a city committee is weighing changes to it. ACORN itself is careful here, and so is this page: the provincial N13 data is too incomplete to draw firm conclusions from. CBC News (May 22, 2026) ↗

Put them on the record

Would you close the demoviction loophole in the rental repair bylaw, and how?

■ CITY DECIDES

Is Dundas Place working?

London's first flex street ($27M, opened December 2019) closes to vehicles on a pilot schedule for events and activations. Not all downtown businesses support the limited pilot hours; some push for scheduling that better matches customer traffic.

Put them on the record

What should Dundas Place's car-free schedule be, and what number tells you it's working?

■ CITY DECIDES

BRT construction on the ward's edges

The Downtown Loop itself ($28.5M in dedicated bus lanes on King, Wellington, Queens and Ridout) was completed in 2024, but nearby work continues on the Blackfriars/Petersville edge of the ward. Rehabilitation of The Queen's Bridge (the city's official name for it) started March 2, 2026 and is expected to be complete by May 2027, in two stages: the north half first, then the south half, with no per-stage dates published. One traffic lane and one sidewalk stay open on Queen's Avenue from Ridout Street North to Wilson Avenue throughout; eastbound traffic is unaffected because it uses the Kensington Bridge. The north westbound lane, the north sidewalk, Harris Park Gate and the Thames Valley Parkway under the bridge are closed. City documents describe this as rehabilitation plus shoreline improvements. Whether it widens the bridge or serves as an enabling project for the still-unbuilt west and north BRT legs is not confirmed, so this page does not claim it.

The honest numbers ▾

Council awarded the construction contract to McLean Taylor Construction at $10,218,553.35 excluding HST, the lowest of six bids; with the $1.5-million contingency the city's figure is roughly $11.7 million. A 2025 inspection rated the bridge "poor to fair." On closures: the report describes one weekend closure for placing the concrete deck, with at least a week's public notice, and no date has been announced. Note that the $13,463,318 total in the report's Appendix A draws on eight separate capital accounts and is not a clean project cost, so it is not published here as a project total. Contract Award: Tender RFT-2025-258, staff report (PDF) ↗

Put them on the record

Do you support building the west and north BRT legs, yes or no?

YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL OCTOBER

Change can start now, at any point

The ballot is one tool, not the only one. Between elections, the people who show up are the ones who get heard, and you can start today, not next fall.

  • Email or call your councillor. Every office lists a phone number and address, and a single resident's message still lands. City of London ↗
  • Speak at a committee. Any resident can register as a delegation and take five minutes to address a Standing Committee on an item that's on its agenda. City of London ↗
  • Read the record. Agendas, staff reports, and every recorded vote are posted publicly on the city's meeting portal. City meetings ↗

None of it waits four years. The people already in the room are the ones who asked to be.

DON'T STOP AT ONE RACE

Also on your ballot

Before you go

The rest is showing up

You’ve read the ward. Ward races here can come down to a few hundred ballots, sometimes fewer. In a race that close, your vote is one of the ones that decides it. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to show up, informed.

BEFORE OCT 26

How to vote in Ward 13

ADVANCE
Oct 1
ADVANCE
Oct 3
ADVANCE
Oct 5–10
ELECTION DAY
Oct 26 · 10 am – 8 pm

You’ll need ID with your name and address. Full voting guide: where, what to bring, who can vote →

WHAT WE COULDN’T CONFIRM YET ▾
  • RESOLVED August 2, 2026: the office-vacancy figure and the "highest in Canada" line on this page were both wrong and are corrected. CBRE's London Office Figures Q2 2026 (published July 17, 2026) put downtown vacancy at 29.6% on data to June 30, 2026, down from 31.5% in Q1, and state plainly that London's core is now below Waterloo Region's, so London no longer has the country's emptiest downtown offices. The claim was true through Q1 2026 and is written in the past tense here. Two related traps are now flagged on the issue card: 25.0% is London's whole office market including suburbs, not a downtown number, and the quarter's roughly 82,000 sq ft is the three-month gain in occupied space, not total space occupied. The word "record" is not used for 31.5%: it exceeded Q3 2024's 31.4% by a tenth of a point, too thin to call one.
  • OPEN, and it will change before election day: CBRE publishes Q3 2026 London office figures in mid-October (its recent releases have landed roughly October 6 to 17), days before the October 26 vote. Everything on this page about downtown vacancy is as of June 30, 2026 and is written so a single number can be swapped. Re-check the CBRE London figures page after October 6.
  • RESOLVED August 2, 2026: The Queen's Bridge details are confirmed against the February 2, 2026 contract-award report to the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee (Tender RFT-2025-258) and the city's engagement page at getinvolved.london.ca/queensbridge. Corrections made: the official name is The Queen's Bridge, not the Queens Avenue Bridge; work started March 2, 2026 and is expected complete by May 2027; it runs in two stages (north half, then south half) with no per-stage dates published; and one traffic lane plus one sidewalk are maintained throughout. On closures, the city's report describes a single weekend closure for concrete deck placement with at least a week's notice and no announced date; any "full closures expected fall 2026" wording is unsupported. The published contract value is $10,218,553.35 excluding HST (about $11.7 million with the $1.5-million contingency); the $13,463,318 figure in the report's Appendix A draws on eight capital accounts and is not a clean project total.
  • UNVERIFIED: whether The Queen's Bridge rehabilitation widens the bridge, adds transit lanes, or functions as an enabling project for the west and north BRT legs. City documents describe rehabilitation plus shoreline improvements. The earlier BRT-enabling characterization on this page has been removed rather than restated, and should only go back if a city document says so.
  • RESOLVED August 2, 2026 (partly): London's renoviction bylaw now has a dated one-year read. Per CBC (May 22, 2026), ACORN says it has slowed bad-faith renovictions and N13 filings are down overall, but only seven Rental Unit Repair Licence applications had been received and a city committee is weighing changes. Still open: the underlying provincial N13 data is too incomplete to support a firm effectiveness verdict, so ACORN's cautious framing is kept as-is and not upgraded into a conclusion.
  • The July 12, 2026 Victoria Park/Sunfest incident is carried as its own issue card rather than folded into the BIA security card, so both it and the 2023 BIA cost figures keep their own linked sources. It remains one incident: London police publish no downtown-level or ward-level crime trend data, so no direction can be read from it.
  • The exact December 2024 "minor amendment" to Ward 13's boundary was not identified; the Ward Boundary Review Final Report and the Dec 10, 2024 committee report should be read directly before publishing any specific claim about it.
  • The Old East Village question is answered as "no, it moves to Ward 1, not Ward 13" with reasonable confidence from multiple sources (CBC's May 1, 2026 nominations story confirms OEV moved out of Ward 4 into Ward 1), but this was not confirmed against the City's authoritative interactive ward map; a direct visual check is recommended.
  • Ward 13 population (current or post-redraw) was not found in this research pass.
  • The BIA security-cost figures are from a November 2023 CBC article about Argyle Road and Hamilton Road BIAs, not Downtown London's own BIA; a downtown-specific, more recent figure was not found.
  • Some CBC/CTV articles were only accessible via a read-proxy on the July 2 pass; the May 1, 2026 CBC nominations article was re-read in full on July 3 and its Ward 13 claims held up. The June 2026 downtown-plan approval coverage (June 17/23 dates, $48-million figure) still merits a direct read before quoting.
  • Nominations closed August 21, 2026, and the City certified the list on August 24, 2026.
  • August 9, 2026 boundary audit against the official 2026 ward polygons: Downtown HCD, Blackfriars-Petersville HCD, and the Central planning district each sample 100% inside Ward 13; SoHo holds via 311 address points on Grey St and Simcoe St (100% W13); Kensington Village holds via Kensington Ave (27 points, 100% W13) and its documented location between the Thames and Riverside Drive west of Wharncliffe. Oxford Park is SPLIT by the ward line: Empress Ave (73 points) is 100% W13 but Essex St (50) and Fernley Ave (6) are 100% W6, so the region line now says 'part of Oxford Park'. This split may be where the amended boundary runs; the amendment itself is still unconfirmed against the by-law.
  • CORRECTED August 9, 2026: this page called Ward 13 "the biggest field so far" — true when written, but Ward 7 reached nine candidates on August 6 and holds that label now. The glance says "a six-candidate field" instead.
  • ADDED August 11, 2026: new issue card on the City of London special-constable program. Confirmed via the City's own Council Brief (london.ca/council-briefs, July 21, 2026 entry) after the eSCRIBE agenda for that meeting showed the item on the docket but minutes were not yet posted: council directed staff to study a permanent program rather than approving or establishing one, with a report due Q1 2027 — after the election. An earlier committee-stage figure (11 constables, 4-2 committee vote) comes from CBC's July 2026 coverage of the committee stage, not the July 21 full-council outcome; not repeated here as a settled number since the Council Brief doesn't confirm it survived to the full-council direction.