On June 12, voters head to the polls in the 2014 Ontario election. Learn more about the candidates and political history of the riding of Durham.
Candidates
Liberals: Granville Anderson
Progressive Conservatives: Mike Patrick
NDP: Derek Spence
Green: Halyna Zalucky
Geography
Roughly “the rural parts of Durham Regional Municipality south of Lake Scagg,” Durham’s largest towns are Clarington, Bowmanville and Uxbridge. At 1,625 km, it’s the 31st-largest riding in Ontario by area.
History
Last election, PC MPP John O’Toole won this seat by about 9,000 votes over Liberal candidate Betty Somerville. The area has leaned Conservative both federally and provincially for some time. Provincially, O’Toole has held the seat (and its predecessor, Durham East) since 1995, always winning by at least 10 per cent. But he is not running in this election.
By the numbers
With a population of 126,833 last census, Durham is the 32nd-largest riding in Ontario by population. It’s a heavily English-speaking riding, where the majority of people are married.
Riding in a tweet
Separating the GTA from eastern, rural Ontario, Durham has been a PC seat for 19 years. But with no incumbent, the door is slightly open.
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