Peterborough—Kawartha

Peterborough—Kawartha is centred on the City of Peterborough in east-central Ontario and extends into the surrounding municipalities of Douro-Dummer, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Selwyn, Otonabee-South Monaghan, and Asphodel-Norwood, as well as the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations. The city sits along the Otonabee River and the Trent-Severn Waterway, roughly 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The riding blends Peterborough's urban core—home to Trent University, Fleming College, and a regional hospital—with the agricultural and cottage communities of the surrounding Kawartha Lakes region.

The 2021 census recorded a population of approximately 118,200, including roughly 100,350 eligible voters. The median age of about 44 is above the provincial average, and nearly 98 percent of residents report English as their first language. The riding's demographic composition closely mirrors that of the broader Canadian population in terms of occupation, religion, and ethnicity—a characteristic that has given it a longstanding reputation as a bellwether constituency.

Candidates

Michelle Ferreri (Conservative) — A Trent University graduate with degrees in biology and anthropology, Ferreri also studied biotechnology at Loyalist College. She worked as a television news anchor at CHEX-DT in Peterborough from 2003 to 2014 before becoming a marketing consultant and vlogger. She served as CEO of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough and Kawartha Region before entering federal politics. The 2021 election was her first campaign for Parliament.

Maryam Monsef (Liberal) — Born in Mashhad, Iran, to Afghan parents who had fled the Soviet–Afghan War, Monsef immigrated to Canada with her family in 1996 and settled in Peterborough. She graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology. She ran for Mayor of Peterborough in 2014, finishing second, and was elected to Parliament in 2015—becoming the first Afghan-Canadian MP. She served as Minister of Democratic Institutions, Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and Minister of Rural Economic Development. She co-founded the Red Pashmina Campaign, which raised over $150,000 for women in Afghanistan.

Joy Lachica (NDP) — Lachica moved to Canada from the Philippines as a child and spent more than twenty-five years as an elementary school teacher. She served as an elected member of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario and as president of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto. She relocated from Toronto to the Peterborough area in 2020.

Paul Lawton (PPC) — Lawton was the People's Party of Canada candidate in Peterborough—Kawartha for the 2021 federal election.

About the Riding

Peterborough—Kawartha's bellwether status is one of its most distinctive features in Canadian politics. The riding has voted for a member of the governing party in all but four general elections since the riding's creation, making it a closely watched barometer of national political trends. Its demographic averageness—by religion, occupation, and ethnicity—has historically made it a microcosm of the broader electorate, though an aging population and shifting demographics have made that mirror less precise in recent years.

Trent University is a major economic anchor. A 2022 study estimated that the university's combined impact of spending and human capital development totalled approximately $712 million annually—roughly ten percent of the Peterborough region's gross domestic product. Fleming College, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and the federal government offices downtown are also significant employers. The Trent-Severn Waterway, a National Historic Site of Canada, draws boaters and tourists through the heart of the city via the world's highest hydraulic lift lock.

Affordable housing, healthcare access, and the opioid crisis have been pressing local issues. The city's relatively low cost of living compared to Toronto has attracted new residents, pushing up housing prices and rental costs. The presence of two First Nations within the riding—Curve Lake and Hiawatha—brings reconciliation, treaty rights, and Indigenous governance into the constituency's political landscape. The surrounding agricultural and cottage communities raise issues of rural broadband, farm policy, and environmental stewardship of the Kawartha waterways.