Thornhill

This Greater Toronto Area riding contains part of the town of Markham and part of the city of Vaughan. Its boundaries are Highway 404 in the east, Highway 400 in the west, Steeles Avenue in the south and Rutherford Road, Bathurst Street and Highway 7 in the north.

The service sector, retail trade and manufacturing are the main employers. In the service sector, almost 13 per cent of jobs are accounted for by professional, scientific and technical services. Average family income is $121,298 and unemployment is six per cent.

According to the 2006 census the immigrant population is 50 per cent, and only 48 per cent have English as their mother tongue. There are significant Jewish, Chinese, Russian and Polish communities.

The riding of Thornhill was created in 1996 from 21 per cent of York North and 26 per cent of Markham-Whitchurch-Stouffville.

Population: 131,978 (2006 census; an increase of 13.0% since 2001)

Political History

Liberal Susan Kadis beat Conservative challenger Anthony Reale in the 2006 election after receiving 53 per cent of the vote. It is her second term in office.

In 2004, Kadis defeated Conservative Josh Cooper by 10,584 votes.

Liberal Elinor Caplan held Thornhill for two terms. She was appointed minister of citizenship and immigration in 1999 and minister of national revenue from January 2002 to December 2003.

The former riding of York North has been Liberal since 1988. Maurizio Bevilacqua was elected in 1988 and 1993, following one term by Independent Tony Roman. The riding of Markham-Whitchurch-Stouffville elected PC Bill Attewell in 1988 and Liberal Jag Bhaduria in 1993.

York North:

• 1935-53 inclusive - LIB
• 1957, 1958 - PC
• 1962-74 inclusive - LIB
• 1979, 1980 - PC
• 1984 - IND
• 1988, 1993 - LIB

Thornhill:

• 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006 - LIB