Eglinton—Lawrence

Eglinton—Lawrence occupies a swath of midtown Toronto stretching from Yonge Street westward to Caledonia Road, with Highway 401 forming its northern edge and Eglinton Avenue its southern boundary. Lawrence Avenue runs through the riding's centre, connecting established residential streets in Bedford Park and Lawrence Park to the postwar apartment blocks of Lawrence Heights and Lawrence Manor. The riding encompasses a socioeconomic mosaic that ranges from some of the city's most valuable real estate to social housing communities.

Candidates

Marco Mendicino (Liberal) — A federal prosecutor for ten years before entering politics, Mendicino studied political science at Carleton University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor. During his prosecutorial career, he was involved in the Toronto 18 terrorism case. He also served as president of the Association of Justice Counsel and taught as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Mendicino won the Liberal nomination in July 2015, defeating Eve Adams, a Conservative MP who had crossed the floor to the Liberals earlier that year.

Joe Oliver (Conservative) — The sitting Minister of Finance and incumbent MP, Oliver brought decades of experience in the financial sector to the campaign. He held an MBA from Harvard Business School and a law degree from McGill University, and had served in senior investment banking roles at Merrill Lynch and Nesbitt Thomson. Oliver was executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission and president and CEO of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada before entering politics. First elected in 2011, he served as Minister of Natural Resources before being appointed Minister of Finance in March 2014 following Jim Flaherty's departure.

Andrew Thomson (NDP) — A former Saskatchewan cabinet minister, Thomson served in the Saskatchewan legislature from 1995 to 2007 and held multiple portfolios including Minister of Finance, where he introduced significant tax reductions and delivered a then-record $7.7 billion budget during a period of rising resource revenues. He was recruited by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair to challenge Oliver directly.

Matthew Chisholm (Green Party) — Chisholm ran for the Green Party in the riding.

Ethan Buchman (Libertarian) and Rudy Brunell Solomonovici (Animal Alliance/Environment Voters) also appeared on the ballot.

About the Riding

Eglinton—Lawrence attracted national media attention in 2015 as one of the highest-profile battlegrounds in the country, pitting the sitting Minister of Finance against well-credentialed challengers from two opposition parties. The riding's demographics are richly layered: it holds a significant concentration of residents of Polish origin, a significant Jewish community, and growing Filipino and Latin American populations along its western corridors. Lawrence Heights, a social housing development built in the 1950s, was in the early stages of a major revitalization plan during the campaign period. Transit was a pressing issue, with construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT affecting businesses and commuters along the riding's southern boundary. The local economy is sustained by retail strips along Yonge Street, Bathurst Street, and Avenue Road, professional offices, and institutional employers including several hospitals in the broader midtown Toronto area.