Milton (Ontario) 179/338

 Milton (Ontario)

Today we're in Halton with Milton!

Milton has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution, created from Halton. The population of the riding was 136,993 in 2021. The riding contains the town of Milton (132,979 in 2021) as well as part of Burlington. The riding has grown 20.1% between 2016 and 2021. 

Politically, this seat was a prime example of the Ford Effect in 2019. The riding was won by the Conservatives in 2015 by just over 2,400 votes, not the surge the Liberals experienced across the rest of the GTA. However, in 2019, both the Conservatives and NDP saw a good chunk of their voters go towards the Liberals, giving them the riding. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Adam Van Koeverden.

The MP before Van Koeverden was Lisa Raitt. Raitt, a notable moderate in the party, served in Parliament from 2008-2019. During the Harper years, she served in three different cabinet portfolios: Natural Resources, Labour, and Transport. In 2017, she ran for the Conservative leadership, performing quite well in Atlantic Canada, but ultimately only receiving 3.34% on the first ballot. She became deputy leader of the Conservative Party and served as such from July 2017 until she lost her seat in 2019. In 2019, this seat was 62/121 in Ontario and 146/338 in Canada by margin.

The name is good, almost the entire population is in Milton, and I'm sure it will be exclusively Milton soon. The shape is also good, a nice mix of the geometric shapes of urban Halton and the way rural Ontario looks. As for individuality, that swing is pretty interesting, Ford Effect aside. 

Tomorrow we'll be back in Quebec with Mirabel!