Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes

Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes is a sprawling federal riding in eastern Ontario stretching along the St. Lawrence River corridor from Brockville to the Thousand Islands and north to the Rideau Lakes. The by-election was called following the sudden death of Conservative MP Gord Brown, who suffered a fatal heart attack in his Parliament Hill office on May 2, 2018. Brown had represented the riding since 2004.

Candidates

Michael Barrett (Conservative) — Barrett was an Edwardsburgh/Cardinal township councillor and president of the local Conservative riding association at the time of his candidacy. He won the party's nomination on a fourth ballot at a contested convention in August 2018, defeating several other contenders including the late MP's nephew.

Mary Jean McFall (Liberal) — McFall is a lawyer and former Brockville city councillor who had served as Chief of Staff to federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. She previously ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding in the 2015 general election.

Lorraine Rekmans (Green Party) — Rekmans had served as the Green Party of Canada's Indigenous Affairs critic since 2008 and was a former Executive Director of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association. She had also been the Green candidate in the riding in 2015.

Michelle Taylor (NDP) — Taylor was the NDP candidate who had also run for the party provincially in Ontario earlier in 2018.

About the Riding

The riding encompasses the entirety of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in eastern Ontario. It includes the towns of Brockville, Prescott, and Gananoque, along with the townships of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Rideau Lakes, Elizabethtown-Kitley, Augusta, Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, Front of Yonge, and Athens. The famous Thousand Islands archipelago in the St. Lawrence River forms the riding's southern boundary, while the Rideau Canal—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—winds through its northern reaches.

The region's economy is diverse, with healthcare, manufacturing, education, and logistics serving as key sectors. Brockville General Hospital is one of the area's largest employers with over 1,300 jobs. Other significant employers include Cardinal Health in Gananoque, Kriska Transportation in Prescott, and the Giant Tiger distribution centre in Brockville. The town of Prescott functions as a transportation and logistics hub due to its proximity to Highways 401 and 416, the Prescott-Ogdensburg International Bridge, and the deep-sea Port of Johnstown.

With a population of approximately 100,000, the riding is predominantly English-speaking and rural in character, though Brockville (population roughly 22,000) serves as the primary administrative, commercial, and healthcare centre. Tourism plays an important role in the local economy, driven by the Thousand Islands boat cruises, the Rideau Canal, and numerous heritage sites including the Blockhouse in Merrickville, a National Historic Site of Canada.