Halton

The federal riding of Halton sat in the suburban heart of the Regional Municipality of Halton, west of Toronto along the Lake Ontario shore. It encompassed the Town of Oakville, the Town of Milton, and the southern portion of the Town of Halton Hills — a corridor stretching from lakeshore commuter communities to the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. The riding's population was approximately 203,000 as of the 2011 census, making it one of the fastest-growing constituencies in the country, with the region having recorded a 14.2 percent growth rate between 2006 and 2011.

Candidates

Lisa Raitt (Conservative) — Raitt grew up in Sydney, Cape Breton, and was trained as a lawyer at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. She also held a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Guelph, specializing in environmental biochemical toxicology. Before entering politics, she served as general counsel, then harbourmaster, and ultimately president and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. First elected in Halton in 2008, she was appointed Minister of Natural Resources, where she managed the medical isotope shortage caused by the Chalk River reactor shutdown. She was moved to the Labour portfolio in 2010 and entered the 2011 campaign as the incumbent Minister of Labour.

Connie Laurin-Bowie (Liberal) — Laurin-Bowie was the Executive Director of Inclusion International, where she led the organization's strategic and financial operations across some 200 member organizations in 115 countries. A long-time Halton resident, she had played a role in negotiating articles on inclusive education and legal capacity within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She was nominated as the Liberal candidate in March 2011.

Pat Heroux (NDP) — Heroux carried the NDP banner in Halton during the 2011 campaign. Detailed biographical information from the period is limited.

Judi Remigio (Green Party) — Remigio was a longtime early childhood and parent-child teacher at the Halton Waldorf School, where she had worked for nearly two decades by the time of the 2011 election.

Tony Rodrigues ran for the Christian Heritage Party.

About the Riding

Halton was defined by its position along the Highway 401 and QEW corridors between Toronto and Hamilton. Oakville, the riding's largest community, had a population of roughly 182,500 and served as a headquarters location for companies including Siemens Canada. Milton, with a population of approximately 84,000, was one of Canada's fastest-growing municipalities, its formerly rural landscape rapidly filling with new suburban subdivisions driven by commuter demand. The southern fringe of Halton Hills retained a more small-town and rural character.

The local economy was heavily service-oriented, with retail trade, professional services, and health care among the leading employment sectors. Major employers in the region included Gordon Food Service in Milton, Siemens Canada and Aviva Canada in Oakville, and Innomar Strategies in the health care supply chain. Manufacturing still maintained a presence, though the area had been transitioning toward knowledge-economy and logistics roles. GO Transit commuter rail connected Milton and Oakville to Toronto's Union Station, and the riding's rapid residential growth had made infrastructure planning, transit capacity, and urban sprawl key local concerns heading into the 2011 election.