Niagara West (Ontario) 202/338

 Niagara West (Ontario)

Today we're back in the Niagara Region with Niagara West!

Niagara West has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution, created from Niagara West—Glanbrook, St. Catharines and Welland. The population of the riding was 96,946 in 2021. The riding contains the towns of Grimsby (28,883 in 2021), Lincoln (25,719 in 2021), and Pelham (18,192 in 2021).

Politically, this seat is a classic rural seat that was Liberal during the Reform/PC split years. The rural areas leaned further and further towards the Reform party from 1993-2000, but the Liberals did really well in the urban centres of Grimsby and Pelham. Even when the Conservatives picked the seat up in 2004, the Liberals still overwhelmingly won Pelham. The seat is currently represented by Conservative MP Dean Allison.

Provincially, this seat was held by PC MPP, PC Leader, and Leader of the Opposition Tim Hudak. In 1995, he won the seat by just under 1,200 votes, making him the second youngest MPP, just after John Baird. He served in both Mike Harris and Ernie Eaves' cabinets. In 2009, he won the PC Leadership over Frank Klees, Christine Elliot, and Randy Hillier. He successfully held the Liberal government to a minority in 2011, putting himself in a good position to form government next time around. However, due to some missteps by his campaign, he fell out of favour, leading to a Liberal majority and his resignation in July 2014. In 2019, this seat was 47/121 in Ontario and 122/338 in Canada by margin.

The name is quite good, I think I'd even be okay with something like Lincoln-Pelham. The shape is also great, not the biggest fan of the municipal boundaries on the east, but that's not the biggest issue. As for individuality, it's a Conservative rural Ontario seat that's under populated, not too surprising.

Tomorrow we'll be in Northern Ontario with Nickel Belt!