Guelph (electoral district)

Guelph
Ontario electoral district

Guelph in relation to other Ontario electoral districts (2003 boundaries)
Federal electoral district
Legislature House of Commons
MP
 
 
 

Lloyd Longfield
Liberal

District created 1976
First contested 1979
Last contested 2015
District webpage profile, map
Demographics
Population (2011)[1] 121,688
Electors (2015) 94,632
Area (km²)[2] 87.15
Pop. density (per km²) 1,396.3
Census divisions Wellington
Census subdivisions Guelph
For the provincial electoral district, see Guelph (provincial electoral district).

Guelph (formerly Guelph—Wellington) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. This riding has had a Liberal MP since 1993.[3]

From 2008 until his decision not to run in 2015, the riding's parliamentary seat was held by Liberal MP Frank Valeriote. Valeriote had announced his intention to retire on November 15, 2014.[4]

A so-called "robocall" or voter suppression scandal occurred in this riding during the 2011 federal election, when hundreds of Guelph voters who were opposition supporters[5] received automated calls, or 'robocalls', claiming to be from Elections Canada on election day, May 2, 2011. These calls directed them to the wrong polling stations. While reports of such calls were also alleged in five other ridings, later described as election fraud by a Federal Court judge, there was insufficient evidence to support charges in those ridings.[6][7] The "robocall" incidents were referred to as the "Pierre Poutine" scandal because a cellphone in the affair was registered to a fictitious Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street in Joliette, Que.[8]

One June 2, 2014[9] Michael Sona, the former director of communications for the Conservative candidate in Guelph was charged with "wilfully preventing or endeavouring to prevent an elector from voting".[10][11][12] Sona was found guilty on November 14, 2014 [13] and was sentenced to nine months in jail plus twelve months of probation.[14] During the trial, Justice Hearn agreed with the Crown prosecutor's allegation that Sona had likely not acted alone.[15][16][17] Sona was released from the Maplehurst Correctional Complex on December 1, 2014, on bail after serving twelve days, pending his appeal of the sentence. He did not appeal the conviction.[18][19]

Based on another incident during the 2011 federal election campaign, Liberal MP Frank Valeriote’s riding association was fined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules. As reported by the National Post, this fine was based on a robocall message that anonymously attacked the Conservative opponent’s position on abortion. The call failed to identify its originator and did not give a callback number. Under a settlement agreement with Valeriote, the CRTC assessed a $4,900 fine.[20]

The Liberal candidate in the 2015 federal election in the Guelph riding was Lloyd Longfield, who previously served as president of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.[21] Longfield was elected on October 19, 2015 with nearly 50 per cent of the popular vote, more than 15,000 votes ahead of the Conservative candidate, Gloria Kovach.[22]

History

Guelph riding was created in 1976 from parts of Halton—Wentworth, Wellington and Wellington—Grey ridings. It consisted initially of the Townships of Eramosa, Guelph, Pilkington and Puslinch and the City of Guelph in the County of Wellington.

The electoral district was abolished in 1987 when it was merged into Guelph—Wellington riding, adding Erin to the existing boundaries. In 1996, Erin and Pilkington was removed from the riding.

In 2003, a new riding of Guelph was created again, consisting solely of the City of Guelph.

This riding gained a fraction of territory from Wellington—Halton Hills during the 2012 electoral redistribution.

Political geography

In 2008, the election in Guelph was a four-way one between the NDP, Greens, the Tories and the Liberals, who came out on top. The NDP only won a small handful of polls in the centre part of the city, which was also where the Greens did well. In fact, the Greens dominated the central part of the city. The Tories did well on the fringes of the city, mostly along the northern borders and in the far south of the city. The Liberals won the southern and northern and western parts of the city.[23]

Demographics

According to the Canada 2001 Census

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following member of the Canadian House of Commons:

Parliament Years Member Party
Guelph
Riding created from Halton—Wentworth, Wellington
and Wellington—Grey
31st  1979–1980     Albert Fish Progressive Conservative
32nd  1980–1984     Jim Schroder Liberal
33rd  1984–1988     Bill Winegard Progressive Conservative
Guelph—Wellington
34th  1988–1993     Bill Winegard Progressive Conservative
35th  1993–1997     Brenda Chamberlain Liberal
36th  1997–2000
37th  2000–2004
Guelph
38th  2004–2006     Brenda Chamberlain Liberal
39th  2006–2008
40th  2008–2011 Frank Valeriote
41st  2011–2015
42nd  2015–Present Lloyd Longfield

Election results

2015 Federal election

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalLloyd Longfield 34,303 49.10 +5.80
ConservativeGloria Kovach 18,407 26.35 -6.52
New DemocraticAndrew Seagram 8,392 12.01 -4.72
GreenGord Miller 7,909 11.32 +5.19
LibertarianAlex Fekri 520 0.74
MarijuanaKornelis Klevering 193 0.28
CommunistTristan Dineen 144 0.21
Total valid votes/Expense limit 69,868100.00 $238,871.52
Total rejected ballots 2980.42
Turnout 70,16673.27
Eligible voters 95,761
Liberal hold Swing +6.16
Source: Elections Canada[24][25]
2011 federal election redistributed results[26]
Party Vote %
  Liberal 25,643 43.30
  Conservative 19,460 32.86
  New Democratic 9,906 16.73
  Green 3,628 6.13
  Others 583 0.98

2011 general election

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalFrank Valeriote 25,574 43.37 +11.15 $94,243.98
ConservativeMarty Burke 19,252 32.65 +3.47 $87,361.60
New DemocraticBobbi Stewart 9,836 16.68 +0.19 $12,588.72
GreenJohn Lawson 3,711 6.29 -14.86 $47,019.22
LibertarianPhillip Bender 192 0.32 +0.05 none listed
MarijuanaKornelis Klevering 171 0.29 +0.01 none listed
Animal AllianceKaren Levenson 123 0.20 +0.08 none listed
CommunistDrew Garvie 104 0.17 +0.04
Total valid votes/Expenditure Limit 59,021 100.00 $95,043.06
Total rejected ballots 2600.44 +0.12
Turnout 58,963 64.48-0.11
Electors on the lists 91,062

2008 general election

The call for a federal election to be held on October 14, 2008 occurred when Guelph was already in the throes of a by-election scheduled for September 8, which was intended to replace retiring Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain. As a result of this, the by-election was cancelled, and the four major candidates running opted to represent their parties again in the federal election. They included: Frank Valeriote, a local lawyer with thorough community experience who had garnered the Liberal nomination in an upset over regionally popular Marva Wisdom; Gloria Kovach, a city councillor and former President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities who was controversially handed the Conservative nomination after incument nominee Brent Barr was oustered; Tom King, a renowned author and Native rights activist who received several high-profile endorsements after his NDP nomination; and Mike Nagy, a long-time Green Party spokesperson.

Initially in Guelph, optimism ran high that either the NDP, Green Party, or Conservative Party could procure the seat, as many felt that the nominees might benefit from the relative unpopularity of Stéphane Dion's Liberals and the gaffes made by prior Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain, who had failed to show up to a number of Parliamentary votes and retired before the end of her term in office. Ultimately, however, Frank Valeriote was able to narrowly garner the seat over star candidate Gloria Kovach, who lost by around three percent and decreased the margin of defeat for her party. Noteworthy, too, was the increase in the electoral returns of the Green Party, who managed to fare better than the federal NDP in Guelph for the first time, finishing with twenty-one percent of the vote - almost three times what they had received in the 2006 election. In terms of distance from winning position, Guelph was the Green Party's best result in the country in 2008.

Canadian federal election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalFrank Valeriote 18,974 32.22 −6.17 $87,844
ConservativeGloria Kovach 17,186 29.18 −0.58 $63,415
GreenMike Nagy 12,454 21.15 +12.43 $76,344
New DemocraticTom King 9,713 16.49 −5.51 $60,470
MarijuanaKornelis Klevering 166 0.28 none listed
LibertarianPhilip Bender 159 0.27 $0.00
CommunistDrew Garvie 77 0.13 −0.05 $374
Animal AllianceKaren Levenson 73 0.12 $5,039
IndependentJohn Turmel 58 0.10 none listed
Marxist–LeninistManuel Couto 29 0.05 −0.02 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 58,889100.00
Total rejected ballots 1910.32−0.03
Turnout 59,08064.59−6.17
Electors on the lists 91,463

2006 general election

Canadian federal election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalBrenda Chamberlain 23,662 38.39 −6.22 $56,158
ConservativeBrent Barr 18,342 29.76 +3.65 $80,104
New DemocraticPhil Allt 13,561 22.00 +1.97 $30,173
GreenMike Nagy 5,376 8.72 +1.37 $27,621
Christian HeritagePeter Ellis 538 0.87 −0.33 $4,880
CommunistScott Gilbert 111 0.18 $280
Marxist–LeninistManuel Couto 45 0.07 −0.05 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 61,635100.00
Total rejected ballots 2150.35−0.22
Turnout 61,85070.76+6.58
Electors on the lists 87,410
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

2004 general election

Canadian federal election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalBrenda Chamberlain 23,442 44.61 −3.58 $60,734
ConservativeJon Dearden 13,721 26.11 −12.57 $61,179
New DemocraticPhil Allt 10,527 20.03 +9.67 $27,613
GreenMike Nagy 3,866 7.36 +5.60 $15,304
Christian HeritagePeter Ellis 634 1.21 +0.71 $5,059
MarijuanaLyne Rivard 291 0.55 none listed
Marxist–LeninistManuel Couto 66 0.13 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 52,547100.00
Total rejected ballots 3030.57+0.24
Turnout 52,85064.18+3.07
Electors on the lists 82,346
Note: Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000.
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

19882003

The riding was part of the riding known as Guelph—Wellington from 1988 to 2003. It was created in 1987 to include parts of Wellington—Dufferin—Simcoe electoral districts.

Guelph—Wellington initially consisted of the City of Guelph, the Village of Erin, and the townships of Eramosa, Erin, Guelph, Pilkington and Puslinch in the County of Wellington.

In 1996, the riding was re-defined to consist of the City of Guelph and the townships of Eramosa, Guelph and Puslinch before being abolished in 2003, and split into the current electoral district and Wellington—Halton Hills electoral district.

Canadian federal election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalBrenda Chamberlain 26,440 48.19 +0.46 $31,978
AllianceMax Layton 11,037 20.12 +2.83 $51,423
     Progressive Conservative Marie Adsett 10,188 18.57 −2.74 $19,049
New DemocraticEdward Pickersgill 5,685 10.36 −0.05 $26,212
GreenBill Hulet 966 1.76 +0.64 $201
     N/A (Christian Heritage) Gord Truscott 275 0.50 −1.35 $3,119
Canadian ActionSharon Tanti 207 0.38 $3,244
Marxist–LeninistManuel Couto 68 0.12 −0.15 $8
Total valid votes 54,866 100.00
Total rejected ballots 181 0.33 −0.35
Turnout 55,047 61.11 −5.53
Electors on the lists 90,076
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.

Canadian federal election, 1997
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalBrenda Chamberlain 25,004 47.73 +7.70 $37,750
     Progressive Conservative Dick Stewart 11,160 21.31 +0.72 $56,755
ReformLyle McNair 9,054 17.28 −6.39 $30,052
New DemocraticElaine Rogala 5,456 10.42 +5.53 $20,301
Christian HeritagePeter Ellis 972 1.86 $7,503
GreenFrank Marchetti 589 1.12 $5
Marxist–LeninistElaine Couto 146 0.28 $0
Total valid votes 52,381 100.00
Total rejected ballots 357 0.68 −0.25
Turnout 52,738 66.64 +0.14
Electors on the lists 79,141
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution.
Canadian federal election, 1993
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
LiberalBrenda Chamberlain 24,359 39.24 $42,976
  Reform Gerry Organ 15,483 24.94 $45,760
  Progressive Conservative Bill Scott 12,825 20.66 $57,999
  Non-Affiliated Frank Maine 3,465 5.58 $29,745
  New Democratic Party Alex Michalos 2,904 4.68 $27,092
  National Maggie Laidlaw 2,018 3.25 $6,098
GreenSimon C. Francis 318 0.51 $0
  Natural Law David W. Mitchell 255 0.41 $12
  Libertarian Tom Bradburn 247 0.40 $0
Canada PartyJohn H. Long 108 0.17 $600
  N/A (Renewal) Anna Di Carlo 78 0.13 $0
  Abolitionist Andrew Tait 20 0.03 $0
Total valid votes 62,080 100.00
Total rejected ballots 583 0.93
Turnout 62,663 67.20
Electors on the lists 93,250
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.
Canadian federal election, 1988
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeBill Winegard 25,721 43.21 -6.70
LiberalFrank Gauthier 19,002 31.92 +2.69
New DemocraticAlex Michalos 11,623 19.53 +0.07
Christian HeritagePeter Ellis 1,978 3.32
GreenBill Hulet 581 0.98
LibertarianMichael J. Orr 298 0.50 -0.17
RhinocerosMarty Williams 240 0.40 -0.33
Independent Joanne Bruce 80 0.13
Total valid votes 59,523100.00

19791984

Canadian federal election, 1984
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeBill Winegard 23,484 49.91 +12.36
LiberalJim Schroder 13,757 29.24 -9.97%
New DemocraticJim Robinson 9,153 19.45 -2.72
RhinocerosSusie Mew Catty 343 0.73 +0.11
LibertarianWalter A. Tucker 314 0.67 +0.43
Total valid votes 47,051 100.00
Canadian federal election, 1980
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalJim Schroder 17,268 39.21 +1.74
Progressive ConservativeAlbert Fish 16,539 37.55 -4.41
New DemocraticJim Finamore 9,765 22.17 +2.44
RhinocerosSteve Thorning 272 0.62
LibertarianBrian Seymour 103 0.23 0.03
Marxist–LeninistRobert A. Cruise 53 0.12 0.02
CommunistAlan Pickersgill 45 0.10 0.01
Total valid votes 44,045100.00
Canadian federal election, 1979
Party Candidate Votes%
Progressive ConservativeAlbert Fish 18,149 41.96
LiberalFrank W. Maine 16,203 37.46
New DemocraticJim Finamore 8,535 19.73
IndependentJoe Barabas 190 0.44
LibertarianBrian Seymour 90 0.21
Marxist–LeninistRobert Cruise 45 0.10
CommunistAlan G. Pickersgill 39 0.09
Total valid votes 43,251 100.00

See also

References

Notes

  1. Statistics Canada: 2011
  2. Statistics Canada: 2011
  3. http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/in-battle-with-no-incumbent-guelph-remains-liberal-red-1.2617709
  4. http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/liberal-mp-frank-valeriote-won-t-run-in-next-federal-election-1.2102655
  5. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/key-facts-in-canada-s-robocalls-controversy-1.2736659
  6. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/08/14/greasy_robocall_scandal_will_haunt_conservatives_at_the_polls_editorial.html
  7. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/federal-election-2015/ridings/guelph-35032/
  8. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/robocalls-phone-number-registered-to-pierre-poutine-1.1147355
  9. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/michael-sona-charged-with-guelph-robocalls-starts-trial-today-1.2659780
  10. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/michael-sona-wont-appeal-robocalls-conviction-but-will-seek-lighter-sentence-lawyer
  11. http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/trial-begins-monday-for-guelph-pc-staffer-charged-in-robocalls-scandal-1.1847885
  12. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-robocall-victims-ask-elections-canada-to-reopen-case-1.3158248
  13. http://www.citynews.ca/2014/11/19/michael-sona-sentenced-to-9-months-in-robocalls-scandal/
  14. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/michael-sona-sentenced-to-9-months-in-jail-for-callous-robocalls-1.2839410
  15. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/pierre-poutine-robocalls-planned-by-more-than-one-person-but-michael-sona-was-directing-mind-crown-says
  16. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/robocalls-trial-michael-sona-sentenced-to-9-months-in-jail-1.2108744
  17. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/michael-sona-guilty-in-robocalls-trial-but-did-not-likely-act-alone-1.2735676
  18. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/michael-sona-wont-appeal-robocalls-conviction-but-will-seek-lighter-sentence-lawyer
  19. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/michael-sona-wont-appeal-robocalls-conviction-but-will-seek-lighter-sentence-lawyer
  20. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/robocalls-frank-valeriote
  21. http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5968217-longfield-touts-guelph-s-qualities-after-cruising-to-election-win/
  22. http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5958599-guelph-2015-federal-election-results/
  23. Pundits' Guide
  24. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Guelph, 30 September 2015
  25. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  26. Pundits' Guide to Canadian Elections

External links

Coordinates: 43°33′N 80°15′W / 43.550°N 80.250°W / 43.550; -80.250

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