Open Races in GTA

NRU
May 7, 2014
By Leah Wong

With the provincial election called for June 12, Ontario political parties are getting ready to announce their remaining candidates. Three sitting members of provincial parliament in the GTA and one in Toronto will not be seeking re-election, opening up the ridings of Brampton-Springdale, Durham, Etobicoke Centre and Newmarket-Aurora.

The Brampton-Springdale seat is vacant as a result of MPP Linda Jeffrey announcing her campaign to become mayor of Brampton. Jeffrey had held the seat for the Liberals for three consecutive terms. Lawyer and Progressive Conservative Party vice-president Pam Hundal will be looking to secure the seat for the PCs, while business analyst Gurpreet Dhillon will represent the NDP.

The Liberal Party has yet to announce all of its candidates, and will hold its nomination meeting for Brampton-Springdale on Wednesday night. The Green Party of Ontario said its full roster of candidates will be announced by the end of the week. The Ontario NDP also has yet to release its full candidate list.

The Durham race is open as MPP John O’Toole is retiring after almost 20 years in office.
School trustee Granville Anderson will try and hold the seat for the PCs, while business owner Mike Patrick will represent the Liberals. The NDP and the Green Party have yet to announce candidates for this riding.

With Liberal MPP Donna Cansfield retiring this year, Etobicoke Centre is also an open race. Business owner Yvan Baker will try and hold onto this seat for the Liberals. His opposition includes former Toronto mayoral staffer Pina Martino, who is running for the PCs.

The provincial election may impact the municipal elections, which follow in October, as current councillors look to move to the next level of government. In Newmarket-Aurora, Aurora councillor Chris Ballard is the Liberal candidate, while Newmarket councillor Jane Twinney is running for the Progressive Conservatives. Twinney previously registered to seek re-election for her council seat, but has since withdrawn from the race. The seat is currently held by retiring PC MPP Frank Klees, who was fi rst elected to the legislature in 1995.

Other races to watch are the three that have been filled through by-elections over the past nine months. All three MPPs are seeking re-election and may have competitive races again with several re-matches underway.

In February 2014, Thornhill PC MPP Gila Martow won with 48 per cent of the vote, over Liberal candidate Sandra Yeung Racco who took 41.5 per cent. Both Martow and Yeung Racco will be on the ballot again this year.

In August 2013, MPP Doug Holyday won the Etobicoke- Lakeshore by-election for the conservatives with 46.1 per cent of the vote, beating out the Liberal candidate, Toronto councillor Peter Milczyn, who received 41.8 per cent of the vote. Milczyn is once again the Liberal candidate for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, set for a re-match with Holyday.

The Liberal, PC and NDP candidates were in a close race in the August 2013 Scarborough-Guildwood by-election. Mitzie Hunter won with 35.7 per cent of the vote, compared to PC candidate Ken Kirupa’s 30.2 per cent and NDP candidate Adam Giambrone’s 28.9 per cent. Both Hunter and Kirupa are running again in this election.

Candidates are vying for 107 seats in the Ontario legislature, with 54 seats needed to create a majority government. Prior to the dissolution of the government the Liberals held 48 seats, the PCs 37 and the NDP 21, with one seat vacant.