Riding Profile:

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Located just north of Toronto, this riding runs between Highway 400 to the west and Highway 404 to the east. It is bordered to the south by Steeles Avenue.

According to the 1996 census, this area ranks sixth highest in Ontario in average family income. It is also an ethnically diverse riding, with more than one quarter of residents of Jewish origin.

This riding includes that part of the city of Vaughan south of Rutherford Road and the part of Markham lying south of Highway 7.

In the 1999 redistribution, the new riding Thornhill was created from 25 per cent of York Centre and one third of Markham.

Political History:

The competitive nature of the 1999 election - with PC Molinari beating Liberal Ronen by 343 votes - are borne out in the history of this region.

In the old riding of Markham, Tory David Tsubouchi continued a Conservative trend with victories in 1995 and 1999.

In the former riding of York Centre, the Liberals held sway from 1967 to 1981, when Tory Don Cousens won the seat. He was re-elected in 1985. The seat went back to the Liberals in 1987 with a victory by Greg Sorbara, who was re-elected in 1990. Al Palladini won it back for the Tories in 1995.