Beaches - East York

Riding Info

The Toronto riding is bordered by Lake Ontario to the south, East York in the north, the old border of Scarborough in the east and the Don Valley parkway in the west.

A new riding formed in the 2003 election, Beaches-East York combines 95 per cent of the old Beaches-Woodbine riding with 40 per cent of Don Mills and 20 per cent of York East.

The 2007 redistribution kept most of the old riding intact while incorporating small areas of Don Valley East, Scarborough Southwest and Don Valley West.

Population: 104,831 (2006 census; a decrease of 3.7% since 2001)

Political history

The NDP's Michael Prue first won the seat in a 2001 byelection and retained it handily in both 2007 and 2003.

The New Democrats first won the redistributed riding in 1999, as former Beaches-Woodbine MPP Frances Lankin won a convincing victory over Liberal Bill Buckingham. Lankin resigned her seat in 2001 to accept a position as president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Toronto.

The NDP held in Beaches Woodbine from 1975 until its abolition in 2003. Frances Lankin, who was first elected in 1990, was appointed to the provincial cabinet as health minister and minister of economic development and trade.

In the old riding of Don Mills, the PC party ruled from 1971 through 1987. In 1987, Liberal Murad Velshi won the riding, but it was lost in 1990 to New Democrat Margery Ward. Following Ward's death, the seat returned to Tory control in a 1993 byelection.

Return to riding menu

Demographics

Return to riding menu

Candidate Profiles

GRN - Shawn Ali

LIB - Helen Burstyn

PC - Chris Menary

FP - Naomi Poley-Fisher

NDP - Michael Prue

TOP - Joe Ross

Return to riding menu