The 2022 Ontario election is here.
Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell accepted Premier Doug Ford’s advice to dissolve provincial parliament on Tuesday and called for writs for the election to be issued. The campaign officially begins Wednesday, with voters heading to the polls on June 2.
Current polls suggest the Progressive Conservatives are poised for re-election, with the third-place Liberals potentially overtaking the NDP to form the official Opposition.
Locally, the NDP is looking to hold onto the three ridings it has represented in London for years, while the Tories are looking to continue their reign in the area’s two rural ridings.
Of the five ridings in the immediate London area, only one, Elgin—Middlesex—London is without an incumbent this election.
Here’s a look at the local candidates who are vying for a seat in the Ontario legislature.
Bold lettering denotes an incumbent.
London—Fanshawe
An NDP stronghold for a decade, incumbent Teresa Armstrong is vying for a fourth term representing the riding of London—Fanshawe, which spans the easternmost and southernmost parts of London.
Armstrong was first elected to the riding in 2011 after beating incumbent Liberal Khalil Ramal. She was re-elected in 2014 and 2018 with solid margins ahead of the runner-up PC candidates.
Ramal had held the riding since 2003, when he defeated NDP candidate Irene Mathyssen and PC Frank Mazzilli, who had won the riding in the 1999 election. Mathyssen would later run as a federal candidate in London—Fanshawe in 2006, holding office until 2019.
Just over 127,000 people live in the riding, according to the 2021 census, an increase of 6.4 per cent from 2016. Sixty-six per cent of people in the riding are between the ages of 15 and 64, with the average age sitting at 40.
The riding covers 115 square kilometres and includes industrial areas and manufacturing in the city’s east and south, the city’s international airport and Fanshawe College.
- NDP: Teresa Armstrong
- Conservative: Jane Kovarikova
- Liberal: Zeba Hashmi
- Green: Zack Ramsey
- New Blue: Adriana A. Medina
- Ontario Party: TBA
For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
London North Centre
Incumbent Terence Kernaghan is looking to keep the riding of London North Centre in the hands of the Ontario New Democrats for a second term.
Kernaghan was first elected in 2018, becoming the first NDP candidate to represent London North Centre, after wrestling control away from the Liberals for the first time in more than a decade, and beating out Tory runner-up Susan Truppe, who had represented the federal riding from 2011 to 2015.
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Liberal Deb Matthews represented the riding from 2003 until 2018 and chose not to seek a fifth term. Kate Graham ran as the Liberal candidate in the 2018 race, and is running again this year, looking to flip the riding back to red.
Kernaghan’s other opponents include local restauranteur Jerry Pribil, and Carol Dyck, who is running for the Green’s for a second time.
Just over 138,000 people live in the riding according to the 2021 census, an increase of 10.3 per cent from 2016.
Sixty-eight per cent of the riding’s population is between the ages of 15 and 64, with the average age sitting at just under 41. People aged 20 to 34 account for roughly 27 per cent of the riding, compared to 21 per cent in London-Fanshawe and 19 per cent in London West.
The riding covers 58 square kilometres and includes the downtown core, Old North, the Old East Village, Western University, Western Fair District, University Hospital and the growing Stoney Creek and Uplands areas.
- NDP: Terence Kernaghan
- Conservative: Jerry Pribil
- Liberal: Kate Graham
- Green: Carol Dyck
- New Blue: Tommy Caldwell
- Ontario Party: Darrel Grant
For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
London West
New Democrat incumbent Peggy Sattler is looking for a fourth term in office representing the riding of London West.
Sattler was first elected to the riding in a 2013 by-election sparked by the resignation of longtime Liberal MPP Chris Bentley following the Ontario gas plants scandal.
Since then, London West residents have re-elected Sattler twice in 2014 and 2018, both times with decent margins over the runner-up PC candidates.
Prior to Sattler, Bentley had held the riding for the Liberals for 10 years after beating out PC incumbent Bob Wood in 2003. Wood was the riding’s first MPP, elected in 1999.
Among Sattler’s competitors this year is PC candidate Paul Paolatto, who previously ran in London’s 2018 mayoral race, losing out to Ed Holder.
Just over 139,000 people live in London West according to the 2021 census, an increase of 10.5 per cent from 2016. Sixty-three per cent of residents are aged 15 to 64, with the average age sitting at just over 41.
The riding covers 77 square kilometres and includes Boler Mountain, Byron, London Health Sciences Centre, Old South, Springbank Park and the growing Hyde Park and Riverbend areas.
- NDP: Peggy Sattler
- Conservative: Paul Paolatto
- Liberal: Vanessa Lalonde
- Green: Colleen McCauley
- New Blue: Kris Hunt
- Ontario Party: Cynthia Workman
For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
Elgin—Middlesex—London
The only riding in southwestern Ontario without an incumbent candidate, voters in the riding of Elgin—Middlesex—London, regardless of how they vote, will be sending a new face to Queen’s Park.
The Progressive Conservatives are hoping that face belongs to their candidate, Rob Flack, as they look to continue their dominance in the riding. The party has held the seat for more than a decade.
The seat was left wide open after longtime PC MPP Jeff Yurek announced in January that he would not seek re-election and would resign at the end of February after more than 10 years.
Yurek flipped the riding in 2011 from Liberal to Conservative for the first time since its formation in 1999. Yurek was re-elected with solid leads in 2014 and 2018. Before Yurek, Liberal Steve Peters represented the riding for three terms.
Businessman Rob Flack will look to continue the PC’s grip on the riding when he goes up against the NDP’s Andy Kroeker, the Liberal’s Heather Jackson, and the Green’s Amanda Stark.
Jackson previously served as mayor of St. Thomas from 2010 until 2018.
Roughly 126,400 people live in the riding, according to the 2021 census, with 62 per cent of people aged 15 to 64. The riding’s average age sits at 42.
The riding covers 2,482 square kilometres and includes the southernmost parts of London, the city’s southwest end, Lambeth, and areas to the east of the city including Thames Centre.
The riding also spans all of Elgin County, covering Aylmer, Bayham, Central Elgin, St. Thomas and more.
- Conservative: Rob Flack
- NDP: Andy Kroeker
- Liberal: Heather Jackson
- Green: Amanda Stark
- New Blue: Matt Millar
- Ontario Party: Brigitte Belton
For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
Lambton—Kent—Middlesex
After more than 10 years in office, PC incumbent Monte McNaughton is hoping Lambton—Kent—Middlesex residents send him back to Queen’s Park for a fourth term.
McNaughton was first elected to the riding in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014 and 2018 with solid leads to the runner-up New Democrat candidates. Since 2019, he has been the province’s minister of labour, training and skills development.
The riding, like Elgin-Middlesex-London, has been a Conservative stronghold for the last decade. Prior to McNaughton, the riding was represented by Liberal Maria Van Bommel from 2003 until 2011. McNaughton lost to Van Bommel in 2007 but secured the riding four years later.
Further back, PC Marcel Beaubien represented the riding from its inception in 1999 until 2003.
No candidates have been named yet for the riding by the Liberal Party or the Ontario Party.
Just over 111,000 people live in the riding, according to the 2021 census, an increase of 5.6 per cent from 2016. Roughly 66 per cent of residents are between 15 and 65, with the average age sitting at 39.9.
The riding covers nearly 5,000 square kilometres, making it by far the largest local riding by land area, and includes areas to the north and west of London, including Lucan Biddulph, Middlesex Centre, North Middlesex, Southwest Middlesex and Strathroy-Caradoc.
The riding also includes Adelaide Metcalfe, Chatham-Kent, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Lambton Shores, Oneida Nation of the Thames First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation.
- Conservative: Monte McNaughton
- NDP: Vanessa Benoit
- Liberal: TBA
- Green: Wanda Dickey
- New Blue: David Barnwell
- Ontario Party: TBA
For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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