Toronto Centre

Toronto Centre is a densely populated urban riding in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, and one of the smallest federal ridings in Canada by area at approximately six square kilometres. The by-election was called following the resignation of Liberal MP and Finance Minister Bill Morneau on August 17, 2020. Morneau stepped down from both his cabinet position and his seat amid the WE Charity controversy, announcing his intention to seek the position of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Candidates

Marci Ien (Liberal) — A veteran broadcast journalist, Ien graduated from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute's radio and television arts program in 1991 and began her career at CHCH-TV in Hamilton. She joined CTV in 1997 as a reporter for CTV Atlantic before becoming an anchor on CTV Newsnet. She co-hosted the national morning show Canada AM from 2011 until its cancellation in 2016, and subsequently co-hosted the CTV daytime talk show The Social from 2017 to 2020.

Annamie Paul (Green Party) — A lawyer and activist who had been elected leader of the Green Party of Canada on October 3, 2020, just weeks before the by-election. Paul had previously worked in political affairs at Canada's Mission to the European Union and at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court. She had also founded the Canadian Centre for Political Leadership and served as its executive director. She had run as the Green candidate in Toronto Centre in the 2019 general election.

Brian Chang (NDP) — A community organizer who had also been the NDP candidate in Toronto Centre in the 2019 election. He held a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in Environmental Policy and Political Science, and a Master's in Environmental Studies. He had served as Operations Director for Jagmeet Singh's successful NDP leadership campaign and was a co-founder of the Institute for Change Leaders at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Benjamin Gauri Sharma (Conservative) ran as the Conservative candidate. Baljit Bawa represented the People's Party of Canada.

About the Riding

Toronto Centre encompasses a large section of downtown Toronto, including neighbourhoods such as Regent Park, St. James Town, Cabbagetown, Church and Wellesley, and parts of the financial district east of Yonge Street. It also includes the campus of Toronto Metropolitan University. St. James Town is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in Canada, characterized by high-rise apartment towers housing a largely immigrant population.

The riding is extraordinarily diverse, with over half its population identifying as visible minorities. Significant communities include South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, and Latin American residents. Over fifty languages are spoken in the riding, with English as the primary language for about half the population. The riding spans a wide economic range, from the wealth of the financial district to lower-income communities in social housing.

Major institutions and employers include several hospitals, Toronto Metropolitan University, government offices, and the financial services sector. The median individual income in the riding was approximately $40,800 in 2020, reflecting the wide economic disparities within its boundaries.