Durham

This riding at the eastern edge of the Greater Toronto Area takes in Uxbridge and Scugog townships and the regional municipality of Clarington. The riding includes the communities of Uxbridge, Port Perry, Orono, Bowmanville and Courtice.

The Indian reserve of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island is part of the riding, which extends from Lake Ontario to Lake Scugog, north of the ridings of Ajax-Pickering and Whitby-Oshawa.

Manufacturing is the major employer, with retail trade and the service sector also playing big roles.

The 2006 census shows an average household income of $96,993 and an unemployment rate of 5.3 per cent.

Clarington-Scugog-Uxbridge riding was created in 2004 from 84 per cent of Durham riding and 16 per cent of Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge riding. Part of the city of Oshawa moved into the Whitby-Oshawa riding and the western boundary moved west to the York-Durham line. The riding of Durham was established in 1903 and in 1966 merged with parts of Oshawa and Ontario ridings to become Durham-Northumberland. It became Durham again in 1986.

Population: 118,500 (2006 census; an increase of 10.3% since 2001)

Political History

The Conservatives maintained their hold on the riding in 2006 when Bev Oda earned her second term as an MP and beat Liberal Doug Moffatt by 9,797 votes.

In 2004, Oda defeated Liberal Tim Lang by 1,275 votes.

Durham elected PC Ross Stevenson in 1988. He was knocked to third place by Liberal Alex Shepherd in 1993. Shepherd was re-elected in 1997 and 2000.

• 1993, 1997, 2000 - LIB
• 2004, 2006 - CON