Wellington—Halton Hills

Wellington—Halton Hills was a riding of small towns, heritage villages, and agricultural landscapes straddling Wellington County and the Regional Municipality of Halton, roughly 70 kilometres northwest of Toronto. The riding took in the Town of Halton Hills (including Georgetown and Acton), the Town of Erin, and the townships of Centre Wellington (home to Fergus and Elora), Guelph/Eramosa, and Puslinch, with the Grand River valley and the northern edge of the Niagara Escarpment defining much of its scenic character.

Candidates

Michael Chong (Conservative) — The incumbent MP since 2004, raised near Fergus in Wellington County. Born in Windsor, Ontario, to a father who immigrated from Hong Kong and a Dutch-born mother, Chong attended the University of Toronto's Trinity College. He served briefly in Prime Minister Harper's cabinet as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs before resigning on principle over the Québécois nation motion in 2006. He authored the Reform Act — legislation to strengthen parliamentary caucuses — which received royal assent in 2015, and ran for the Conservative leadership in 2017.

Lesley Barron (Liberal) — A surgeon at Georgetown Hospital and mother of three. Dr. Barron entered the race motivated by the health effects of poverty she witnessed in her medical practice and by concerns about climate change and environmental stewardship.

Ralph Martin (Green Party) — An agricultural scientist who grew up on a beef and hog farm in Wallenstein. Martin earned a PhD in plant science from McGill University, founded the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, and held the Loblaw Chair for Sustainable Food Production at the University of Guelph.

Andrew Bascombe (NDP) — A union activist who had served as a Unifor delegate and moved to Acton in 2019. Bascombe had previously sought the provincial NDP nomination in Guelph in 2018.

Syl Carle also ran for the People's Party.

About the Riding

Agriculture remained central to the riding's identity and economy. The townships contained productive farmland growing grain, oilseeds, and hay, alongside dairy, beef, and poultry operations. Supply management, farmland preservation, and the economic pressures facing young farmers were issues candidates were expected to address. The tension between protecting agricultural land and accommodating commuter-driven residential development from the Greater Toronto Area intensified with each election cycle.

The heritage towns of Fergus, Elora, and Georgetown served as commercial and cultural anchors. Fergus hosted the annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games, one of the largest Scottish cultural events in North America. Elora, perched above the dramatic Elora Gorge on the Grand River, attracted visitors with its limestone architecture, galleries, and the Elora Quarry conservation area. Georgetown, closer to the GTA, functioned increasingly as a commuter town, with residents relying on GO Transit's Georgetown line for rail service to Toronto.

Broadband internet access was a persistent concern in rural areas of the riding. Many farms and smaller communities lacked reliable high-speed connections, a gap that affected farm management, home-based businesses, and access to education and government services. Water extraction by Nestlé from wells near Aberfoyle also drew local attention, with residents questioning the long-term sustainability of groundwater resources in the Grand River watershed. The riding had been represented by Conservatives continuously since 2004, with Chong's reputation for principled independence — his cabinet resignation, the Reform Act, and his leadership bid — contributing to durable support among voters who valued conviction over partisanship.