Burlington

This southern Ontario riding takes in part of the city of Burlington. Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour are to the south and the riding is bordered on the west by Highway 6 and King Road, on the north by Upper Middle Road, Guelph Line and Dundas Street and on the east by Burloak Drive.

The economy is highly dependent on manufacturing industries. Retail trade and the service sector are also major sources of employment. Many residents commute to Toronto or Hamilton to work. Average family income is $103,287 and the unemployment rate is 4.9 per cent.

The 2006 census shows that immigrants make up about 22 per cent of the population. Polish, German, Italian and Dutch are the major languages spoken by the 14 per cent of residents whose mother tongue is other than English or French.

The 2004 redistribution kept 99 per cent of the riding, but extended the boundary to Highway 6 in the west. The riding was created from Halton-Wentworth in 1976. In the 1996 redistribution, part of Halton-Peel was added.

Population: 118,310 (2006 census; an increase of 0.8% since 2001)

Political History

In 2006, Conservative Mike Wallace defeated Liberal incumbent Paddy Torsney by 2,599 votes and upset Torsney's 13-year reign as MP. Torsney took the riding in 2004, defeating Conservative candidate Mike Wallace by 4,034 votes. She first became MP in 1993.

Conservative Bill Kempling was a longtime winner in this district and predecessor Halton-Wentworth, winning six terms from 1972 to 1988.

• 1979-88 inclusive - PC
• 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004 - LIB
• 2006 - CON