Riding Profile:

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This south-central riding's major industries are manufacturing, the service sector and some agriculture, and it is home to Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

The riding extends from Hastings in the north to Lake Ontario in the south. The main population centres are Belleville and Picton, but it also includes Prince Edward County, Deseronto, Bloomfield and the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve.

In the 1999 redistribution, the new Prince Edward-Hastings combined 80 per cent of the old Quinte riding with 60 per cent of Prince Edward-Hastings.

Political History:

In Quinte, Conservative Dick Potter won in 1967 and 1971. Liberal Hugh O'Neil held the seat for 15 years following his first victory in 1975, but the Tories took it back in 1995.

In the former riding of Prince Edward-Lennox, Tory N.E. Whitney served from 1951 to 1971. Fellow Tory James Taylor extended the Conservative streak, winning in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1981 and 1985. In 1987, Liberal Keith MacDonald won the seat.

In the old riding of Prince Edward-Lennox-South Hastings, NDP candidate Paul Johnson won in 1990, but lost in the 1995 election to Tory Gary Fox.