About Susan Chapelle
Experienced Leadership. Independent Judgement.
A Record of Getting Things Done.
Toronto-Danforth is where I grew up, where my family lives, where I built businesses, and where I chose to make my home.
My connection to this community is personal, but the experience I bring to this election extends far beyond it.
I have spent my career working where complicated systems meet people’s everyday lives: municipal government, healthcare, scientific research, business, technology, labour, and community economic development.
I served two terms as a municipal councillor in Squamish, chairing public services and transit and working across housing, land use, public health, infrastructure, economic development, and First Nations relations. I helped deliver a transit overhaul that increased ridership by 24 percent, develop a community health plan with the regional health authority, improve access to specialized forensic nursing services, and modernize policies affecting neighbourhood growth and local businesses.
I understand what happens after a political announcement. I know how to move an issue from a resident’s concern to a staff report, through public consultation, into a budget and procurement process, and finally into implementation. I know how to question evidence, work across political differences, and keep projects moving when systems slow or resist change.
My earliest professional experience was in Toronto’s arts industry, as one of the first women to work as an audio engineer and rigger with IATSE Local 58. I worked in theatres, arenas, and major venues across the city, while helping advance workplace protections and opportunities for women. That experience gave me a lasting respect for skilled work, organized labour, Toronto’s cultural industries, and the people who build and operate this city.
I later built a career in healthcare as a clinician, executive, entrepreneur, and educator. I have led operations in growing healthcare organizations, helped build healthcare technology businesses, and continue to operate a clinical practice in Toronto-Danforth. My work has included breast cancer and post-surgical care, healthcare access, organizational leadership, supply chains, regulation, and the design of services around real patient needs.
I am also a published researcher whose work has contributed to the scientific understanding of pain, nerve function, and post-surgical recovery. Research taught me to question assumptions, follow evidence, measure outcomes, and change direction when the facts demand it. My executive MBA and training in community economic development, operational improvement, leadership, and ethics strengthened my ability to turn that evidence into practical decisions.
This is the perspective I will bring to Toronto City Council.
I am not tied to a party machine or a predetermined political script. I know how municipal government works, but I am also willing to challenge systems that are no longer serving people well.
Ward 14 does not need another voice describing its problems. It needs an experienced, independent councillor who can bring people together, navigate government, make sound decisions, and follow through until residents see results.
I did not drop into this race when the seat became open. I live here. I work here. My family is aging, working, and building their lives here. I am committed to representing the community we call home.
That is why I am running to represent Ward 14.
A Systems Career. A Practical Approach.
Toronto runs because of tradespeople, artists, caregivers, drivers, technicians, cleaners, builders, public servants, healthcare workers, and small-business owners. They deserve a city that works as hard as they do.
The arts have also shaped my life. I play violin and banjo, spent 20 years in a community orchestra, and have been part of Toronto’s arts community since I was 17. Local venues are not simply entertainment spaces. They are workplaces, training grounds, gathering places, community anchors, and part of a neighbourhood’s living memory.
Cities need room for creativity, not another glass box with “retail at grade” and no serious plan for who can afford the rent.
I have also spent much of my life doing things women were not always expected to do. I work on engines. I ride dirt bikes. I climb. I have built homes and worked backstage, under vehicles, on ladders, and inside institutions that were not designed with me in mind.
That teaches you to solve problems, remain calm when things break, and recognize the difference between someone who understands the work and someone who simply found the microphone.
My scientific research into pain, scarring, adhesions, and human recovery reinforced the same lesson. Listen carefully. Ask better questions. Test assumptions. Follow the evidence. Take people seriously. Then build systems that respond to what people actually need.
That is also how I approach government.
I do not confuse consultation with action, a newsletter with accountability, or a political announcement with a completed project. City Hall has real tools: budgets, bylaws, zoning, procurement, infrastructure planning, service standards, public health partnerships, and public accountability. The job is to understand those tools and use them effectively.
Toronto-Danforth deserves leadership with policy depth, practical judgment, and a record of getting things done.
A healthy, affordable, creative, and connected community is not built through slogans. It is built by leadership that is available, decisions grounded in evidence, and a City Hall that remembers whom it works for.