Durham

Durham spans the suburban and rural communities east of Toronto, taking in the northern half of Oshawa above Taunton Road, the western portion of the Municipality of Clarington — including the communities of Bowmanville and Courtice — and all of Scugog Township with its lakefront villages on Lake Scugog. The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation reserve lies within the riding's boundaries. The landscape transitions from the subdivisions of Courtice and north Oshawa to the farmland and small towns of the northern reaches.

Candidates

Erin O'Toole (Conservative) — A former captain in the Royal Canadian Air Force, O'Toole served as a tactical navigator on Sea King helicopters with 423 Squadron at 12 Wing Shearwater, where he earned the Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award for rescuing an injured fisherman at sea. After leaving the military, he earned a law degree from Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law and practised corporate law at Stikeman Elliott before serving as in-house counsel for Procter & Gamble. First elected in a 2012 by-election following Bev Oda's resignation, O'Toole was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs by Prime Minister Harper in January 2015.

Corinna Traill (Liberal) — A family and employment lawyer, Traill graduated summa cum laude from the University of Toronto with a double major in Greek and Latin and earned her Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School. Called to the Ontario bar in 2013, she founded Traill Law in Clarington and was serving as a municipal councillor in Clarington's Ward 3.

Derek Spence (NDP) — Spence ran as the NDP candidate in Durham, bringing a labour perspective to the race.

Stacey Leadbetter (Green Party) — Leadbetter carried the Green Party's banner in the riding.

Andrew Moriarity also stood for the Christian Heritage Party.

About the Riding

Durham sits on the eastern edge of the Greater Toronto Area, within the fast-growing Durham Region. Bowmanville is the riding's largest community and serves as Clarington's administrative centre. The area's economy blends commuter employment — many residents travel west along Highway 401 to jobs in Oshawa, Whitby, and Toronto — with local manufacturing, agriculture, and the operations of Ontario Power Generation's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station near Courtice. Veterans' services were a particularly resonant issue in the riding given O'Toole's cabinet appointment and his efforts to repair relations with the veterans' community following controversies under his predecessor. Infrastructure investment, commuter transit, and managing residential growth in Clarington also featured prominently in local discussion.