Ottawa Centre

This urban Ottawa riding contains the city's downtown core, many government offices and Parliament Hill.

It stretches from the Ottawa River in the north to the Rideau River in the south between Shelbourne Road, Maitland Avenue, Merivale Road and Fisher Avenue in the west and Nicholas Street in the east. It includes the residential areas of Westboro, Highland Park, McKellar Park and Westboro Beach as well as Carleton University.

Renters outnumber homeowners 57 per cent to 43 per cent. Fifty-four per cent of residents over age 25 have a university certificate or degree. The public service is the main employer. Average family income is $104,919 and the unemployment rate is 6.4 per cent.

According to the 2006 census, ten per cent of the population list French as their mother tongue and 23 per cent are immigrants.

Ottawa Centre was created in 1966. In 1996, portions of Ottawa West and Ottawa-Vanier were absorbed by Ottawa Centre.

Population: 109,336 (2006 census; a decrease of 4.1% since 2001)

Political History

The New Democrats are seeing an increase in support in this riding after a string of Liberal victories in the 1990s. In 2006, NDP candidate Paul Dewar defeated Liberal Richard Mahoney by 5,141 votes.

Former New Democratic leader Ed Broadbent made his political comeback here in 2004, defeating Mahoney and seven other candidates. Broadbent announced in May 2005 he would not run again. Broadbent was an MP in Oshawa from 1968 to 1989 and the NDP leader from 1975 to 1989.

Liberal Mac Harb served as MP of Ottawa Centre from 1988 until his appointment to the Senate in 2003. In 1993, the race in this riding pitted Harb against New Democrat Marion Dewar, who was then the Ottawa mayor. After she lost here, Dewar ran and was elected in a 1987 byelection in Hamilton Mountain, but she was defeated in that riding in the 1988 general election.

Liberal George McIlraith, MP for Ottawa West from 1940 to 1965, ran and won in Ottawa Centre in 1968. Liberal Hugh Poulin defeated Conservative Hugh Segal in 1972 and 1974. In a 1978 byelection, PC Robert René de Cotret won, but was defeated by Liberal John Evans in 1979 and 1980. In 1984, New Democrat Mike Cassidy defeated Tory Dan Chilcott in a close race.

• 1968, 1972, 1974 - LIB
• 1978 byelection - PC
• 1979, 1980 - LIB
• 1984 - NDP
• 1988, 1993, 1997, 2000 - LIB
• 2004, 2006 - NDP