London North Centre

London North Centre stretches from the residential streets surrounding Western University southward through London's commercial downtown core. The riding takes in the Masonville shopping district, the Richmond Row entertainment corridor, and the institutional cluster around Victoria Hospital, encompassing the city's densest concentration of academic, cultural, and health-care institutions.

Candidates

Peter Fragiskatos (Liberal) — A political science professor at Western University before entering politics, Fragiskatos held a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where his research focused on how insurgent organizations engage in political advocacy. He was first elected in 2015, defeating Conservative incumbent Susan Truppe, and had served as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance during the 42nd Parliament.

Sarah Bokhari (Conservative) — Originally from Pakistan, Bokhari immigrated to Canada and settled in Ontario. She held three master's degrees in international relations, political science, and strategic studies, and had worked as a diplomat before coming to Canada. The 2019 race was her first run for federal office.

Dirka Prout (NDP) — A lead geotechnical engineer and project manager with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and more than 25 years of experience on provincial and municipal infrastructure projects in southern Ontario, Prout had served as co-chair of the federal NDP's Women Commission from 2015 to 2018. She ran on a platform emphasizing London's housing and homelessness crises.

Carol Dyck (Green Party) — Raised in Vancouver with a degree in international relations from the University of British Columbia, Dyck had also earned a master of law degree in Canterbury, England. She was actively involved with London's Environmental and Ecological Planning Advisory Committee and the London Environmental Network, and had previously run for the Green Party federally in 2015 and provincially in 2018.

Salim Mansur (People's Party) — A professor emeritus of political science at Western University, where he taught for over three decades, Mansur was a columnist for the Toronto Sun. He had originally held the Conservative nomination in the riding before being disqualified by the party leadership, and subsequently joined the People's Party of Canada.

Clara Sorrenti (Communist) also appeared on the ballot.

About the Riding

Western University, with approximately 30,000 students and its affiliated colleges King's University College and Huron University College, is the dominant institution in London North Centre. The university and its research park form the economic backbone of the riding's northern half, while Victoria Hospital, part of London Health Sciences Centre, anchors the south. The combination of a large student electorate, a concentration of health-care and academic professionals, and a growing newcomer population gives the riding a distinctive political character.

By 2019, London's downtown core was seeing renewed commercial interest as technology startups and digital creative firms established themselves along Dundas and Richmond Streets. However, homelessness and the opioid crisis were acutely visible in the riding's central neighbourhoods. Rising rental costs driven partly by student housing demand, the future of health-care infrastructure, and support for post-secondary research funding shaped much of the riding's political conversation.