Voters will go to the polls in March to fill the House of Commons seat previously held by Erin O’Toole.
A byelection in the Ontario riding of Durham has been called for Mar. 4.
O’Toole, the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, resigned from his seat in June last year.
Advanced polling starts as early as Feb. 23, and voters can register to vote by mail by Feb. 27.
The south-central Ontario riding encompasses north Oshawa, Clarington, and Scugog.
The riding has been Conservative since 2004 when Bev Oda won it from its Liberal incumbent, Alex Shephard.
O’Toole carried the riding in 2021 with 46.39% of the vote, a 16-point lead over the Liberal candidate, Jonathan Giancroce.
Former radio host Jamil Jivani is the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the riding. He won the party’s nomination with 83% support and has been door-knocking since April.
The Liberals announced earlier this month that they’re running Robert Rock, a Scugog ward councillor. Rock ran for the Conservative nomination against Jivani but said he has since left the party, accusing the Conservatives of importing “far-right” American politics to Canada.
The NDP candidate, Chris Borgia, was nominated in late October of last year. He ran for the Ontario NDP in the 2022 provincial election. Borgia, an electrician by trade, is the Durham Region Labour Council president.
Patricia Conlin is the People’s Party of Canada candidate in the riding. She ran for the PPC in 2021 as well. Conlin is a registered holistic nutritionist and resilience and leadership coach.
The Green party announced last week that Kevin Mackenzie, a second-term Catholic school board trustee, would be its candidate.
