Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is a suburban riding in York Region, north of Toronto, encompassing the southern and central portions of the City of Richmond Hill. The riding is bounded roughly by Bathurst Street to the west, Highway 404 to the east, Highway 7 to the south, and Elgin Mills Road and Gamble Road to the north, with a small portion of the City of Markham included in its southeastern corner. The constituency lies along the Yonge Street corridor—one of the oldest and most commercially significant thoroughfares in the Greater Toronto Area—and is served by the TTC's Line 1 subway extension to Highway 7 and GO Transit's Richmond Hill commuter rail line.

The 2021 census recorded a population of approximately 202,000 for the City of Richmond Hill, with the riding covering a substantial portion of that total. Richmond Hill is one of the most ethnoculturally diverse communities in Canada—visible minorities account for roughly 66 percent of the city's population. Chinese Canadians represent approximately 30 percent of residents, and Iranian Canadians roughly 11 percent, making Richmond Hill home to two of the largest such communities in the country. The median age is 43.6, slightly above the Ontario average.

Candidates

Majid Jowhari (Liberal) — Born in Iran, Jowhari immigrated to Canada at age 18. He earned a Bachelor of Technology in industrial engineering from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. A licensed professional engineer, he founded a boutique consulting firm specializing in large-scale business transformation. In 2015 he became the first Iranian-born Canadian elected to Parliament. He founded and chaired the Parliamentary Mental Health Caucus. He was seeking his third term.

Costas Menegakis (Conservative) — Menegakis is a Canadian of Greek heritage who holds a degree in business from Concordia University. Before entering politics, he built a career in senior corporate management and founded a marketing and logistics company. He served as president of the Greek Community of Toronto for over twenty years. First elected in 2011 in the riding of Richmond Hill, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration before being defeated in 2015.

Adam DeVita (NDP) — DeVita is a professional engineer with fifteen years of experience in the high-technology sector, designing software and computer electronics. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Toronto and a certificate in Preventive Engineering and Social Development. A Richmond Hill resident of thirty-nine years and father of two, he has volunteered at Richmond Hill United Church and served as president of the local NDP riding association for a decade.

Igor Tvorogov (PPC) — Tvorogov is a software developer based in Richmond Hill who works in the information technology sector. He ran for the People's Party of Canada in the riding in both 2019 and 2021.

About the Riding

Richmond Hill's transformation over the past three decades from a predominantly Anglo-Canadian commuter suburb into one of the GTA's most diverse municipalities is the defining story of the riding. Beginning in the 1990s, immigration from Hong Kong and mainland China reshaped the commercial landscape along Highway 7, where shopping centres such as Times Square now cater to Chinese-Canadian residents with restaurants, grocers, and professional services. A parallel influx of Iranian-Canadian families established Persian businesses—rug shops, bakeries, butchers, and restaurants—along the same corridors. South Asian, Korean, and other communities have added further layers of diversity.

The riding's economy is heavily tied to the Greater Toronto Area's service, technology, and professional sectors. Many residents commute south to Toronto for work, and transit infrastructure—particularly the capacity of GO Transit and the implications of the Yonge North subway extension—is a major political issue. Traffic congestion along Highway 7 and Yonge Street is a daily reality for commuters.

Housing affordability has become an acute concern as Richmond Hill's desirability and proximity to Toronto have driven property values sharply upward. The average home price is well above the provincial median, and the supply of rental housing is limited relative to demand. The riding's compact suburban form and its position at the intersection of multiple transit corridors make intensification and land-use planning recurring topics of debate. Richmond Hill has been a competitive riding between the Liberals and Conservatives, with Jowhari's 2019 re-election margin of just 212 votes underscoring the intensity of the contest.