Toronto Centre

Toronto Centre is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903), Toronto Centre (1903–1925, and since 2004), Rosedale (1935–1997) and Toronto Centre—Rosedale (1997–2004).

Toronto Centre covers the heart of Downtown Toronto. The riding contains notable areas such as Rosedale (one of Canada's wealthiest enclaves), Regent Park (Canada's first and largest social housing development), St. Jamestown (a largely immigrant area and the most densely populated neighbourhood in Canada), Cabbagetown, Church and Wellesley (Canada's largest gay community), the eastern portion of the University of Toronto and part of the city's financial district (the northern portion of Bay Street).

Historically, the riding was one of the few in central Toronto where the Progressive Conservatives usually did well. The PCs held the riding for all but 24 years from 1935 to 1993. Since 1993, as has been the case with other Toronto ridings, the Liberal Party has dominated the riding, and it is now considered one of the safest Liberal ridings in Canada.

In the Canadian House of Commons, the riding is represented by Liberal Bob Rae as of the federal by-elections of March 17, 2008.

Its members of Toronto City Council are Pam McConnell and Kristyn Wong-Tam.

History

Centre Toronto riding was first created in 1872 from portions of West Toronto and East Toronto. In 1903, the name was changed to Toronto Centre. In 1924, the riding was broken into Toronto East Centre, Toronto West Centre and Toronto South.

A riding covering much the same area was created in 1933 named "Rosedale" after the wealthy neighbourhood of Rosedale. This riding was replaced with "Toronto Centre—Rosedale" in 1996, but the quickly-growing population resulted in large areas being shaved off on all sides. In 2003, Toronto Centre—Rosedale was abolished, and a new riding somewhat to the east was created named "Toronto Centre".

Each of the four major national political parties (the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Green Party, and the NDP), have active federal and provincial riding associations which act as the local party organizations in the riding. Most contests, however, are between the Liberals and NDP.

Demographics

According to the Canada 2001 Census

Ethnic groups: 57.9% White, 9.1% Black, 8.6% South Asian, 8.3% Chinese, 5.2% Filipino, 1.9% Korean, 1.9% Southeast Asian, Latin American 1.8%, Arab 1.1%.
Languages: 58.5% English, 3.1% French, 36.6% Other, 1.8% Multiple languages
Religions: 25.8% Catholic, 22.0% Protestant, 7.6% Muslim, 4.7% Other Christian , 3.9% Hindu, 3.1% Jewish, 3.0% Christian Orthodox, 2.3% Buddhist, 26.8% No religious affiliation
Average income: $52,484

Members of Parliament

These ridings have elected the following Members of Parliament:

Former boundaries

Election results

Toronto Centre, 2003 - present

2008 general election

On September 21, 2008, Conservative candidate Chris Reid resigned because he said he couldn't commit to four years in government. However, blog entries were discovered that linked him to controversial musings on guns and the murder of Tim McLean aboard a Greyhound bus.^[1] Chris Reid was replaced by David Gentili as the Conservative candidate for Toronto Centre.^[2]

2008 by-election

A by-election, held on March 17, 2008 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Bill Graham was won by Liberal Bob Rae, a former Ontario NDP Premier .

The nominated Conservative candidate in the by-election, Mark Warner, was dropped by the party's national council on October 31, 2007.^[3] Don Meredith was nominated as the Conservative candidate in December 2007.^[4]

Activist El-Farouk Khaki ran for the NDP and Chris Tindal was the Green Party of Canada candidate. Liz White was the Animal Alliance Environmental Voters Party of Canada candidate, and Doug Plumb represented the Canadian Action Party.

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

Toronto Centre—Rosedale, 1996 - 2003

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

Rosedale, 1933 - 1996

Note: NDP vote is compared to CCF vote in 1958 election.

Note: Progressive Conservative vote is compared to "National Government" vote in 1945 election.

Note: Progressive Conservative vote is compared to "National Government" vote in 1940 election.

Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

Toronto Centre, 1903 - 1924

Note: Conservative vote is compared to Unionist vote in 1917 election.

Note: Unionist vote is compared to Liberal-Conservative vote in 1911 election.

Note: vote compared to 1904 election.

Centre Toronto, 1872 - 1903

Note: vote compared to 1874 election.

See also

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

References

External links

Riding history from the Library of Parliament:

• 1872-1924
• 1933-1996
• 1996-2003
• 2003-present
• Campaign expense data from Elections Canada