Video of arson at Toronto MP's home shows suspect dousing vehicles before fires set

Surveillance video released by police of an arson at a Toronto MP's home shows a lone suspect pouring fuel on five vehicles and setting two on fire before abandoning the lit-up gas can in the driveway. 

Liberal MP Salma Zahid says her car and another vehicle were set on fire early Thursday outside her Scarborough home.

Police released the video today as they appealed for the public's help identifying the suspect. 

The footage shows a masked and hooded suspect emptying a red gas can on the front of five vehicles parked in the home's driveway.

The suspect sets the first fire, but recoils as a burst of flames spreads to the can set down beside the car. 

The burning can is then used to set fire to a second car before the suspect drops it in the driveway and runs out of view of the camera.

Zahid, the MP for Scarborough Centre-Don Valley East, has said both vehicles were destroyed but she is relieved everyone is safe and there was no damage to her home. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called the fire a "cowardly act of violence and intimidation." 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2026. 

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