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Five candidates vying to lead Brampton took the stage together for the first time in the 2026 municipal election campaign on Tuesday night.
Co-hosted by the Brampton Arts Organization (BAO) and Brampton Library at the Springdale branch, the forum marked the first head-to-head candidate appearance of the election season.
Moderated by CBC Peel host Nav Nanwa, the town hall, billed Get Out the Vote: An Arts and Culture Issues Forum, aimed to push local infrastructure issues that affect the arts sector, such as affordability and transit, to the forefront of the campaign.
Incumbent Mayor Patrick Brown confirmed his attendance on the day of the event and departed after answering two questions to attend a prior commitment, according to his team.
Brown’s departure left his challengers to field the remainder of the community panel questions and open discussion rounds.
The challengers included real estate attorney Wesley Jackson, who previously ran for mayor in 2018; local realtor Paul Tarriwal; non-profit worker Sandeep Somal; and arbitrator Prabh Gill.
There are 12 candidates running to become Brampton’s mayor. The full slate can be found on the city’s website.
Candidates pitch competing visions for city’s future
Before leaving the town hall, Brown outlined his priorities for the arts and culture sector.
“I’m proud to say it’s this team at city hall that created BAO, funding it with $5 million over five years to build an independent arts organization supporting artists across our city. We want to make sure that the arts are in every aspect of our community.”
Arpan Banerjee, founding director of the Visual Arts of South Asia festival, questioned candidates on how the city should protect and create affordable stages and rehearsal rooms.
To that, Brown replied: ”Brampton is booked every single weekend. Our parks are full, our venues are full, and if we have more venues, which we’re getting, that is going to enable more opportunities to have festivals like that.”
Brampton Board of Trade staff member Vijai Kumar Singh asks the Brampton mayoral candidates a question at the Get Out the Vote: An Arts and Culture Issues Forum at Springdale Library in Brampton on Tuesday. (Gaurav Bhatt/CBC)
The candidates also fielded questions from Brampton Board of Trade member Vijai Singh, local illustrator and parent Joy San, and newcomer artist Aditi Ganeev Sangwan.
With the mayor absent for the remainder of the night, challenger candidates seized the opportunity to critique the administration’s capital project record and pitch competing visions for Brampton’s future.
Somal raised concerns over long-term municipal funding for the BAO, noting that its current five-year operating agreement will expire in 2028.
“It’s important to continue that funding and the partnership with BAO to create more opportunities and create a revenue generating arts and culture sector here in Brampton,” Somal said.
Raising the affordability issue, Jackson said, “Brampton is a fantastic place to live from birth to about the time we finish school. After that, we lose everybody to Toronto. You want artists to live in the city and stay in the city.
“People come back to Brampton when they’re ready to get married and have kids and live in the suburbs. When we talk about missing middle housing, what about the missing middle of artists?”
Brampton needs investment, candidate says
Tarriwal pointed to municipal underinvestment, saying, “Our city’s in desperate need of investment. If we look at all the other cities: Oakville, Mississauga, Vaughan, they all have a vibrant downtown that they have to invest in first in order to reap benefits.
“Our downtown Riverwalk is basically a goldmine that needs to be unlocked,” he said, referring to the flood protection project where main construction began in 2025 and is slated to be completed in 2028.
“That floodplain downtown needs to be corrected. Once we correct that, we unlock federal funding,” Tarriwal said.
The panel also addressed broader civic issues, including downtown revitalization plans, public transit improvements for working artists and community safety.
Municipal election day is Monday, Oct. 26, 2026.