Downsview (electoral district)

Last updated
Downsview
Flag of Ontario.svg Ontario electoral district
Defunct provincial electoral district
Legislature Legislative Assembly of Ontario
District created1963
District abolished1996
First contested 1963
Last contested 1995
Demographics
Census division(s) Toronto
Census subdivision(s) Toronto

Downsview was a provincial riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1963 provincial election, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. Downsview was located in North York, which was previously part of Metropolitan Toronto and is now part of the City of Toronto. It was formed from part of the original riding of York Centre. In 1996 it was merged into a newly reconstituted riding of the same name.

Contents

For most of its history, Downsview was a hotly contested marginal seat between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party. Its final representative, however, was a Progressive Conservative: Annamarie Castrilli was elected as a Liberal in 1995, but crossed parties on the last sitting day of the legislature before the 1999 election.

The riding's demographics and boundaries shifted throughout its existence. In the 1960s, it consisted of the area of the borough of North York between Bathurst Street and Keele Street. During this period, the riding had a large Jewish community, representing about 40% of the population. [1] In the 1975 election, the eastern, predominantly Jewish section of the riding was redistributed to the riding of Wilson Heights and the riding became predominantly Italian. Odoardo Di Santo, elected as a New Democrat in 1975, was one of the first three Italian-Canadians to serve in the Ontario legislature.

Members of Provincial Parliament

Downsview
AssemblyYearsMemberParty
Created from part of York Centre riding in 1963
27th  1963–1967   Vern Singer Liberal
28th  1967–1971
29th  1971–1975
30th  1975–1977   Odoardo Di Santo New Democratic
31st  1977–1981
32nd  1981–1985
33rd  1985–1987   Joseph Cordiano Liberal
34th  1987–1990   Laureano Leone Liberal
35th  1990–1995   Anthony Perruzza New Democratic
36th  1995–1999   Annamarie Castrilli Liberal
 1999–1999   Progressive Conservative
Sourced from the Ontario Legislative Assembly [2]
Merged into York Centre riding after 1999

Electoral results

1963 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [3] Vote %
  LiberalVern Singer7,32838.0
  New Democrat Alan Borovoy 6,80635.3
  Progressive ConservativeDavid Vanek5,16826.8
Total19,302
1967 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [4] Vote %
  LiberalVern Singer8,87536.6
  New DemocratMurray Chusid8,84836.4
  Progressive ConservativeMax Shecter6,29325.9
  IndependentSonee Cohen2611.1
Total24,277
1971 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [5] Vote %
  LiberalVern Singer16,93352.2
  New DemocratMurray Chusid10,80333.3
  Progressive ConservativeLorraine Deane4,67314.4
Total32,409
1975 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [6] Vote %
  New DemocratOdoardo Di Santo8,09037.0
  Liberal Michael Spensieri 7,96236.4
  Progressive Conservative Barbara Greene 5,83226.6
Total21,884
1977 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [7] Vote %
  New DemocratOdoardo Di Santo10,23845.3
  Progressive ConservativeSam Stabile6,10927.0
  LiberalJoseph De Angelis5,81825.7
  IndependentDoreen Leitch2521.1
Libertarian Michael Little1870.8
Total22,604
1981 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [8] Vote %
  New DemocratOdoardo Di Santo8,71839.4
  Liberal Joe Volpe 8,03936.3
  Progressive ConservativeRoss Charles5,36824.3
Total22,125
1985 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [9] Vote %
  LiberalJoseph Cordiano11,25043.9
  New DemocratOdoardo Di Santo11,11943.7
  Progressive ConservativeVincent Stabile3,25012.7
Total28,559
1987 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [10] Vote %
  LiberalLaureano Leone11,92146.7
  New Democrat Maria Augimeri 11,77846.2
  Progressive ConservativeDavid McCreadle1,8167.1
Total19,058
1990 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes [11] Vote %
  New DemocratAnthony Perruzza13,44056.7
  LiberalLaureano Leone8,18034.5
  Progressive ConservativeChris Smith1,4716.2
Libertarian David Kenney6182.6
Total23,709
1995 Ontario general election
PartyCandidateVotes%Expenditures
Liberal Annamarie Castrilli 9,14239.48$36,676.53
New Democratic Anthony Perruzza 8,78237.92$36,600.54
Progressive Conservative Frank Ellis4,44419.19$8,755.28
Independent Donato De Dominicis5722.47$3,816.31
Green Tiina Leivo2170.94$1,046.57
Total valid votes23,157100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots439
Turnout23,59663.90
Electors on the lists36,926
"Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 1995-06-08. Retrieved 2012-09-04.

References

Notes

    Citations

    1. "Four Jews Chosen for Ontario Provincial Parliament; Three Are Incumbents". Jewish Telegraph Agency. October 23, 1967.
    2. For a listing of each MPP's Queen's Park curriculum vitae see below:
      • For Vern Singer's Legislative Assembly information see "Vernon Milton Singer, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
      • For Odoardo Di Santo's Legislative Assembly information see "Odoardo Di Santo, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
      • For Joseph Cordiano's Legislative Assembly information see "Joseph Cordiano, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
      • For Laureano Leone's Legislative Assembly information see "Laureano Leone, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
      • For Anthony Perruzza's Legislative Assembly information see "Anthony Perruzza, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
      • For Annamarie Castrilli's Legislative Assembly information see "Annamarie Castrilli, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
    3. Canadian Press (1963-09-26). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
    4. Canadian Press (1967-10-18). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 2012-04-30.
    5. Canadian Press (1971-10-22). "Here's who won on the Metro ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 12.
    6. Canadian Press (1975-09-19). "Results from the 29 ridings in Metro". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. A18.
    7. Canadian Press (1977-06-10). "How they voted in Metro area". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. A10.
    8. Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Election results for Metro Toronto ridings". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
    9. Canadian Press (1985-05-03). "The night the Tories tumbled; riding by riding results". Ottawa Citizen. Toronto. p. 43. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
    10. "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1987-09-11. p. A12.
    11. "How Metro-Area Voted". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1990-09-07. p. A10.