Here for close to a decade — long before the campaign.

My name is Masha Brar. I'm a mom, a dog mom, a lawyer, a small business owner, and your neighbour in Ward 2.

Professionally, I've spent my career helping families navigate life's most important transitions — protecting their estates, securing their homes, and building new beginnings in this country. That's what I've done as a lawyer for over a decade. At Masha Brar Law Professional Corporation I help individuals and families with wills and estates, real estate transactions, and immigration journeys — the most pivotal, vulnerable moments of a person's life. I've learned to listen not just to respond, but to truly understand. I've also mentored a number of students from local schools and colleges through co-op placements at the firm, giving them a real look at what a legal career actually involves.

My life in Ward 2

I live here with my family. My son goes to school here, where my mother-in-law volunteers in the library. She's part of this community too — we volunteer together at the Compassion Society of Halton. My husband works here. And our dog, Pluto, loves it here. Every morning when I leave for the office, I'm a Ward 2 resident — not a candidate.

I've been part of this community too — volunteering in local schools and non-profits, organising the annual Easter Egg Hunt, helping with the bread at pancake days, and pitching in on class trips and barbecues — supported small business networking, and been an active member and volunteer with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. I've run free legal education webinars, working to make the law less intimidating for everyone, volunteered with Pro Bono Ontario, and fundraised for the Carpenter Hospice.

I've served on the executive committee of the Law Practice Committee (2019–2020) and the executive committee for Immigration Law with the Ontario Bar Association, and the Estate Planners Council of Halton — each an elected or volunteer role, where I offered my experience and made sure I gave back to the community.

Why I'm running

Every day at home, I look in two directions. I see my mother-in-law — her generation, what they built, what they deserve to see protected. And I see my son, almost 12 — curious, opinionated, full of future — and I ask myself the question I suspect many of you ask too:

Burlington is growing. Growth brings opportunity, and new neighbours who want to belong here just as much as those of us who have been here for years. But growth without a plan is just pressure — on our roads, on our services. And we have families quietly wondering if they can still afford to live here.

Burlington's own 2026 Approved Budget confirms the City needs to invest $1.22 billion over the next ten years to keep its $7.1 billion in assets from deteriorating. It's budgeting $868 million. That's a $350 million gap — and it's the single largest driver of tax increases above inflation. Most residents have never heard that number. I think you deserve to.

I am not running against development. I'm running to make sure development works for the people who live here — and for the people who are just arriving. That Ward 2 grows with its residents, not around them.

Sources: City of Burlington, 2026 Approved Budget Book, pp. 15, 22, 24.