Biography of City Councillor Candidate, Marvin Macaraig of Ward 36.

Photo by, Christina Cheng

Marvin Macaraig’s story begins just like many other immigrants who came to Canada in the 1970s. He was born in Quezon City, Philippines in 1976. His family came to Canada when he was still an infant, and like many other new Canadians at the time, they settled in Scarborough because of the rapidly growing economy and plentiful housing.

Since then, Macaraig remained a “local boy”. He attended local schools and graduated from Neil McNeil H.S. where he was introduced to the Beaches, and to the Birchcliff neighbourhoods. From there on, he fell in love with Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest and began to grow within the city.

With his high school diploma, he got on a good track and received scholarships that lead him to attend York University where he completed his Bachelor of Science (Biology) degree. After completion, he worked for two years at a Private Biotech company where he did lab work; analysis on real science instrumentation, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography. He soon realized that there had to be more to life than working in a lab. He missed the collaborative aspects of problem solving and decided to go back to school. He received another undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at York University where he graduated magna cum laude, and won an Undergraduate Achievement Award.

To him, fully understanding the social and cultural aspects of an issue was a key difference from his previous pure and applied science background. It was through this realization that he became interested in politics, governance, and urban life. It was then Macaraig realized a new beginning for his education.

Macaraig’s enthusiasm for learning lead him to earn his Masters in Environmental Studies at York University. Thereafter, he spent a whole summer in Scandinavia where he attended an international graduate summer school at Lund University. This experience was truly transforming with respect to his perspectives on the critical issues facing Toronto and other North American urban areas. Once he completed his Master’s Degree, he decided, “why not keep going?”

Macaraig then got accepted into the Ph.D. program in the Department of Geography and Program Planning at the University of Toronto and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate, with an expected graduation date in late 2010.  One of his areas of expertise is metropolitan governance, and his research is based on community planning and sustainable development. His dissertation is on the creation and management of the Rouge Park, which is the large greenspace located on the eastern boundary of the City of Toronto.

He is also an Instructor and Teaching Assistant at the University of Toronto Scarborough, in the Department of Social Sciences, in city studies and geography.

In addition to completing his  Ph.D., Macaraig has also served on a number of university-wide committees. Last year he was named as a Screener for the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, $100,000 Go Green Challenge. For over 7 years, he has also took part in working with organizations such as, the Friends of the Rouge Watershed, and most recently, Our Community Speaks, which is a group working to find a suitable solution to the highly-contested Quarry Land Development located in Ward 36.

Today, Macaraig still calls Scarborough home. He and his wife Clarine, and alongside their Shih-Tzu Jaq, are proud homeowners in Ward 36, in the Birchcliff neighbourhood. Macaraig is a transit rider, a motorist, and commutes by bike whenever possible.

He has a passion for all things urban and is a believer that effective governance is only possible through carefully cultivated community partnerships and is looking forward to representing his community as Councillor of Ward 36.

Photo by, Christina Cheng