TORONTO — A convicted sex offender who sexually assaulted a child student has been operating as a prominent organizer in the federal Liberal by-election campaign in Scarborough Southwest, promoting candidate Doly Begum to Prime Minister Mark Carney at a campaign event featured on CBC National News, appearing repeatedly at her side from the campaign’s launch through advance voting week, arranging transportation to the polls for voters, and attending community events alongside Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree — with no indication the Liberal Party of Canada vetted his criminal record.
The Bureau has confirmed through a review of CBC footage, social media posts, campaign photographs, video, and signed public communications that Yusuf Ali Talukder — convicted in 2010 in Ontario Court of sexual touching of a child under the age of 14 and stripped of his teaching certificate by the Ontario College of Teachers in 2013 — is deeply embedded in the campaign to elect Begum as the MP for Scarborough Southwest ahead of the April 13 by-election.
Ontario court records say Talukder is a respected figure in his Bengali Muslim community, so much so that children in the class of the victim called him “uncle” — and the victim’s mother, who believed the faith-connected Dhaka Learning Centre would be good for her daughter, trusted him implicitly.
The story emerges at a moment of unprecedented political movements verging on delivering Mark Carney’s Liberal government a majority.
On Wednesday, Ontario Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu announced she was crossing the floor to join the government benches — the fifth floor-crosser in one year, a record in modern Canadian politics. Gladu’s move was the latest in a series of defections that Carney has cultivated as a central political strategy. The CBC News report that covered Gladu’s announcement also featured the Scarborough Southwest by-election as another example of that strategy — specifically citing Begum’s journey from Ontario NDP deputy leader to Liberal candidate as emblematic of Carney’s ability to attract talent across the political spectrum.
It was in that CBC broadcast that Talukder appeared centrally in the background of campaign footage featuring Carney and Begum — visible on national television, and to the Liberal campaign staff who organized and documented the event. The juxtaposition is significant: a Prime Minister whose brand rests on the promise of values-driven politics, shaking hands with a campaigner whose criminal history for the sexual abuse of a child is a matter of public record.
Begum herself is a product of that cross-party recruitment.
She resigned as Ontario NDP deputy leader in February, shocking her own party, to run for Carney’s Liberals in the federal riding vacated by former Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who has since departed for London as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Blair was questioned at Canada’s foreign interference commission regarding his actions as Public Safety Minister during a Canadian Security Intelligence Service investigation into federal election interference. The Scarborough Southwest by-election is one of three federal contests scheduled for April 13. A Liberal sweep would bring Carney a functional majority in the House of Commons.
The extent of Talukder’s integration into the Begum campaign transcends a number of campaign events in which he is often positioned prominently beside Begum, appearing to command respect within her community and political circles.
Talukder’s own signed Facebook post, accompanied by video, describes a meeting with Carney at a campaign event on Kingston Road in Scarborough. In the post, Talukder — signing with his full name, his phone number, and the official campaign email address info@votedolybegum.ca — recounts telling the Prime Minister of his personal commitment to electing Begum and lobbies Carney directly to make her a cabinet minister, a request that speaks to the confidence he carried into that room as a central figure in her campaign and community operation.
His post attributed to Carney the statement: “First, send Doly Begum to Ottawa — then we will see what more she can contribute.” A video posted to his Facebook page shows him shaking hands with the Prime Minister at length, with Begum standing beside them. In the audio, Carney chuckles and makes a restrained gesture as Talukder raises the cabinet prospect, replying: “First we get to Ottawa.”
A review of campaign photographs and social media confirmed by The Bureau places Talukder at the campaign launch, at multiple subsequent campaign events, and at community gatherings where he was photographed alongside Begum and other Liberal members of Parliament. At one event, The Bureau confirmed he was photographed standing beside Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, and also seated beside Begum at a table. In photographs from the campaign launch, he is visible in close proximity to Begum and other Liberal MPs.
Signed public Facebook posts in his own name directed voters to the campaign’s official office at 472 Danforth Road, provided the official campaign phone number and email, and offered to arrange transportation to polling stations during the advance voting period. “We remain confident that upon her election, she will have the opportunity to play a meaningful role at the federal level in his cabinet,” Talukder wrote in the post documenting his meeting with Carney. “If you or someone you know requires transportation to the polling station, please feel free to contact us or visit: 472 Danforth Road. We are here to support you in exercising your democratic right.”
The language, the address, and the official campaign email are identical to those used in communications from the Begum campaign itself. In a separate Facebook post dated March 1, Liberal MP Salma Zahid — who represents a neighboring Scarborough riding — directed her own followers to the same address, writing that Begum and “her team in Scarborough Southwest are working hard” and inviting supporters to join by visiting the campaign office at 472 Danforth Road. Photographs reviewed by The Bureau show Talukder was also present at the campaign launch alongside Zahid and numerous Toronto-area Liberal MPs.
The Liberal Party and the Begum campaign, in a statement provided to The Bureau by Liberal Party spokesperson Matteo Rossi, said Talukder “has no role with the campaign, and will not be invited to any of its events,” and that “neither Doly nor anyone working on the campaign had any knowledge of this individual’s legal history.”
The party described the event at which Talukder met Carney as “an open community event.” Talukder’s own signed Facebook post describes the same occasion differently — as a meeting at which he spoke directly with the Prime Minister, recounting the conversation in detail and attributing to Carney a specific statement encouraging Begum’s path to cabinet. His Facebook page, reviewed by The Bureau, is dominated almost entirely by official Liberal campaign graphics and promotional material for Begum.
Responding to The Bureau‘s inquiry, Talukder confirmed he attended the event at which he met Prime Minister Carney, describing it as “a public campaign event” at which he “expressed personal support for Ms. Begum.” He said he did not disclose his legal history to Begum, her campaign, or the Liberal Party, adding: “It is in the public records.”
“I am one of many dedicated community supporters of Ms. Doly Begum’s campaign in Scarborough Southwest,” he wrote. “My involvement has been as a supporter and community member who believes in her leadership, integrity, and commitment to public service.”
The conviction that forms the foundation of this story is a matter of public record. On May 31, 2010, Talukder was found guilty in Ontario Court of sexual touching of a person under the age of 14, a student he was tutoring. Justice D. Hackett found that his conduct involved deliberate grooming of the child over a period of a year, exploitation of the student’s vulnerability following the death of her father, and a calculated abuse of his position of trust as a teacher and respected community figure. He was sentenced to six months in jail followed by three years of probation.
Court records reviewed by The Bureau show that the assault on November 24, 2007 was preceded by approximately one year of escalating contact with the same 13-year-old student at his Dhaka Learning Centre in Scarborough — touching the victim’s clothing, tracing his hand around the neckline of her shirt, pressing his knuckles to her chest — conduct the victim testified he made look “pretty normal and not obvious.” On the day of the conviction offence, court records show Talukder approached the victim repeatedly at her desk while other students worked, placing his hand inside her clothing and squeezing her breast on multiple occasions, and rubbing the zipper of her pants. After class, he handed the victim his notebook with the words “Never tell anybody” written in pencil, then took it back, erased the words, and returned it to his desk.
When the victim’s family confronted Talukder the following day at the learning centre, court records show he acknowledged his conduct almost immediately, telling family members “Sorry, I misbehaved. It was a little mistake.”
He removed his shoe and offered it to the victim’s mother to hit him rather than go to the authorities. When the family gathered with Talukder’s wife at the centre to be told what he had done, court records show his wife told the victim’s family to leave justice to the community. “Leave his punishment to her,” his wife said, according to the court ruling, warning that if they went to the police, the victim’s name “would be ruined in their community.” The family went to police that day regardless.
The Ontario College of Teachers revoked his Certificate of Qualification and Registration in 2013. The conviction was reported at the time by the Toronto Star and CP24, both of which named Talukder and identified him as the principal of Dhaka Learning Centre in Scarborough. A 2015 CP24 report noted he was continuing to operate a private tutoring program despite the conviction and the revocation of his teaching credentials.
Beyond the campaign, The Bureau confirmed that Talukder’s relationship with Begum extended into community settings. He serves as president of the Association of Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects of Ontario (ABEO), a 1,500-member professional organization incorporated in 1997. The Liberal campaign statement said Begum attended what was advertised as a career fair hosted by the association and had no knowledge of any matrimonial network associated with the event, and that she has no ties to the network.
Regarding Begum’s attendance at the January 26, 2026 ABEO event, Talukder wrote: “On behalf of ABEO, we invited Ms. Begum in her capacity as the MPP for Scarborough Southwest, along with other community leaders and distinguished guests. She attended as a special guest during the AGM and broader community event.”
Asked if he has personal or professional relationships with Begum or her family, Talukder wrote: “To the best of my knowledge, I have no formal or informal business, financial, or undisclosed personal relationship with Ms. Begum or any members of her extended family beyond normal community engagement and public events.”
On his conviction, Talukder acknowledged the ruling while disputing the weight of the evidence against him, writing that “the honourable judge found me guilty” but adding that “there was no witness against me” and that “nobody saw anything.” That characterization is inconsistent with Justice Hackett’s reasons for judgment, which found multiple witnesses credible and corroborative, and which concluded that Talukder was not a reliable witness. Hackett found the Crown had established all elements of both offences beyond a reasonable doubt.
Talukder said the conviction and its aftermath represented “the most difficult and unfortunate period of my life” and that he has since focused on “living responsibly, supporting my family, and contributing positively to the community.” He said he has had no further criminal issues since completing his sentence and that he has continued his tutoring practice “in compliance with all applicable laws and restrictions.”
In additional comments, Talukder described himself as a family man and long-serving community volunteer, noting decades of involvement with engineering associations, mosques, cooperatives, and newcomer support networks across Canada. He said he immigrated with his family in 2002, built his tutoring practice from a single student, and has tried throughout his life “to help others through volunteer work, educational support, and community service.” He wished Begum well in her public service and said he does not believe his past conviction should be associated with her at all.
Voters in Scarborough Southwest go to the polls on Monday.
