Willowdale

Willowdale is a federal riding in the former city of North York, now part of Toronto, covering a suburban area bounded roughly by Bathurst Street to the west, Bayview Avenue to the east, the Finch Avenue corridor to the north, and Highway 401 to the southeast. The by-election was called after Jim Peterson, the veteran Liberal MP who had represented the riding since 1988 and served as Minister of International Trade under Prime Minister Paul Martin, resigned effective July 2, 2007, after deciding to retire from politics.

Candidates

Martha Hall Findlay (Liberal) — Hall Findlay was a lawyer, entrepreneur, and businesswoman who had practised corporate and commercial law at Baker McKenzie in Toronto, served as general counsel and executive for Bell Mobility, and later founded The General Counsel Group, a legal and management consulting firm focused on the telecommunications sector. She had also been a candidate in the 2006 Liberal leadership race.

Maureen Harquail (Conservative) — Harquail was a 39-year-old lawyer who held a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto and an Honours Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wales, Cardiff Law School.

Lou Carcasole (Green Party) — Carcasole ran for the Green Party in the by-election.

Rini Ghosh (NDP) — Ghosh represented the NDP in the riding.

About the Riding

Willowdale is a suburban riding in the northern part of Toronto, developed primarily in the postwar era from the former postal villages of Newtonbrook, Willowdale, and Lansing. The area is centred on the Yonge Street corridor between Sheppard Avenue and Finch Avenue, with a mix of high-rise residential towers, mid-century single-family homes, and commercial plazas.

The riding is one of the most multicultural in Canada. It has significant Korean, Chinese, and Iranian communities, with Korean being one of the most widely spoken languages after English. The Yonge and Finch area developed as a major Korean commercial district, while Chinese and Iranian businesses are concentrated along other sections of the corridor. The riding's population of approximately 118,000 reflects successive waves of immigration.

Major institutions include portions of the North York Civic Centre complex and access to the Yonge subway line, which runs through the heart of the riding with stations at Sheppard-Yonge and Finch. The economy is driven by small and medium-sized businesses in the professional services, technology, and retail sectors, as well as by residents commuting to downtown Toronto. Willowdale had been a Liberal stronghold, with the party holding the seat continuously since 1988.