Chatham-Kent - Essex

This riding in southwestern Ontario is bordered by Lake Erie to the south and the Thames River to the north.

The major urban centres are Chatham, Leamington and Blenheim. Point Pelee National Park, Rondeau Provincial Park and the Moravian Indian Reserve are in riding.

The economy is sustained mainly through manufacturing, predominantly in the auto industry, as well as agriculture and the service sector. The average household income is $75,028 and the unemployment rate is seven per cent.

There are small francophone and Italian populations in the riding, as well as long-established German and Dutch communities. Eighty per cent of residents listed English as their mother tongue in the 2006 census, with French listed by six per cent and Chinese – the next most numerous language group – by 2.5 per cent.

The riding of Kent-Essex existed from 1966 to 1976, when it was divided into Essex-Kent and Kent. In 1996, 63 per cent of Essex-Kent and 62 per cent of Kent were combined to recreate Kent-Essex. The name was changed to Chatham-Kent-Essex in 1998. This riding was not changed in the 2004 redistribution.

Population: 109,484 (2006 census; an increase of 3.1% since 2001)

Political History

In the 2006 election, the riding went to the Conservatives after candidate Dave Van Kesteren defeated Liberal Jim Comiskey by 5,616 votes. In the previous election, Van Kesteren was not as successful and lost to Liberal incumbent Jerry Pickard by 407 votes. Pickard went on to serve his fifth term in the riding but did not run in the 2006 election.

The ridings of Essex-Kent and Kent traditionally swung between the Liberals and the Tories in the period up to 1988. In 1988, Pickard defeated PC incumbent Jim Caldwell.

Kent:

• 1979 - PC
• 1980 - LIB
• 1984 - PC
• 1988, 1993, 1997 - LIB

Essex-Kent:

• 1979, 1980 - LIB
• 1984 - PC
• 1988, 1993 - LIB

Chatham-Kent-Essex:

• 2000, 2004 - LIB
• 2006 - CON