Toronto—Danforth

Toronto—Danforth (formerly Broadview—Greenwood) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto.

New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton was the Member of Parliament of the riding until his death on August 22, 2011. It left the seat vacant pending a by-election which must be called within six months. The southern part of the riding (Ward 30) is represented on Toronto City Council by councillor Paula Fletcher. The northern part of the riding (Ward 29) is represented by Mary Fragedakis.

Toronto—Danforth includes a vibrant array of ethnicities, including large Greek, Chinese, Muslim and South Asian communities.

It has long been one of the more left-leaning ridings in Toronto. Most election contests take place between the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. The NDP held the riding for the first nine years of its existence before Liberal Dennis Mills won the seat in 1988 and held it during the long period of Liberal dominance of the federal scene. He was unseated in 2004 by Layton, who had previously run against Mills in 1997.

The northern portion of the riding, East York, tends to lean right-of-centre, while the southern half, including Riverdale, Leslieville and Queen–Broadview Village, usually swings to the left.

Layton sought neighbourhood input for another name change to the riding. Layton's supposed choice was "East York—Danforth—Riverdale", but the name was not changed.

History

The riding was created in 1976 as "Broadview—Greenwood" from parts of Broadview and York East.

It consisted initially of the part of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto bounded on the south by Queen Street East, on the west by the Don River, and on the east and north by a line drawn north from Queen Street along Jones Avenue, east along Gerrard Street East, north along Greenwood Avenue, west along O'Connor Drive, north along Don Mills Road to the Don River.

In 1987, it was redefined to consist of the part of the City of Toronto and the Borough of East York bounded on the west by the Don River, on the south by Queen Street, and on the east and north by a line drawn from the lake north along Leslie Street, east along Queen Street East, north along Greenwood Avenue, east along Danforth Avenue, north along Coxwell Avenue and Coxwell Boulevard, and west along Taylor Creek and the Don River East Branch to the Don River.

In 1996, it was defined to consist of the parts of the City of Toronto and the Borough of East York north along Leslie Street, east along Queen Street East, north along Greenwood Avenue, east along Gerrard Street East, north along Coxwell Avenue and Coxwell Boulevard, west along Taylor Creek, the Don River East Branch and the Don River, northwest along Millwood Road, southwest along the Canadian Pacific Railway and the eastern limit of the City of Toronto, south along the Don River to Toronto Harbour.

The name of the electoral district was changed in 2000 to "Toronto—Danforth" on the suggestion of Dennis Mills, the riding's Member of Parliament. Many local citizens were upset at the name change, particularly due to the lack of public say in the matter.

In 2003, it was given its current boundaries, which consist of the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by Lake Ontario and Toronto Harbour, on the east by Coxwell Avenue and Coxwell Boulevard, on the north by Taylor Creek and the Don River East Branch, and on the west by the Don River.

Former boundaries

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following Members of Parliament:

Election results

Toronto—Danforth, 2000–present

Forthcoming by-election

2011 general election

2008 general election

2006 general election

2004 general election

Change from 2000 for top three parties is based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the total of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party votes.

Broadview—Greenwood, 1976–2000

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.

Note: the popular vote of Progressive Conservative candidate Peter Worthington is compared to the total popular vote in the 1982 by-election earned by the PC candidate Bill Fatsis and by Mr. Worthington running without affiliation.

See also

• List of Canadian federal electoral districts
• Past Canadian electoral districts

References

Sources

• Broadview—Greenwood federal riding history from the Library of Parliament
• Toronto—Danforth federal riding history from the Library of Parliament
• Campaign expense data from Elections Canada