Davenport

Davenport is a compact, densely populated riding in Toronto's west end, encompassing the neighbourhoods of Little Portugal, Dufferin Grove, Bloordale Village, Brockton Village, the Junction Triangle, and Dovercourt Park. Historically a working-class community shaped by waves of Portuguese, Italian, and Latin American immigration, the riding has undergone significant gentrification over the past two decades. Victorian row houses and modest bungalows now sit alongside cafés, art galleries, and renovated live-work spaces, and property values have climbed sharply. Davenport remains one of the most ethnically diverse ridings in Canada, with a growing population of young professionals and families coexisting alongside long-established immigrant communities.

Candidates

Julie Dzerowicz (Liberal) has represented Davenport since 2015, when she became the riding's first female MP. Born in downtown Toronto to Ukrainian and Mexican immigrant parents, Dzerowicz holds an MBA from the London Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. Before entering politics, she spent more than two decades in the private sector, including senior positions at BMO Bank of Montreal, where she helped create and launch the email money transfer service in Canada. She co-founded Project Neutral, an environmental organization focused on helping communities reach net-zero emissions.

Francis Lavoie (Conservative) grew up in Deux-Montagnes on Montreal's North Shore and moved to Toronto to pursue a career in sales after attending prep school in upstate New York on a hockey scholarship. He has worked in the hardwood flooring industry and has fifteen years of sales experience. Lavoie has lived in the Davenport riding since 2013 with his husband and is a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community. In 2025, he more than doubled the Conservative vote share in a riding where the party had consistently polled around ten percent.

Sandra Sousa (NDP) is a data engineer and grassroots community organizer of Portuguese-Canadian heritage who lives in the riding with her partner and two children. She is the founder of Davenport For Palestine, a local activist group, and won the NDP nomination in a contest that drew the highest turnout in the riding association's history.

Lilian Barrera (Green Party) was born in Mexico City and immigrated to Canada as a child. She studied Communications and Visual Arts in French Immersion at the University of Ottawa and ran on a platform emphasizing housing affordability, free post-secondary education, and climate action.

Dave McKee (Communist) is a printer by trade who has lived in the Davenport riding for over 25 years. He has served as a union steward and negotiator at a major newspaper and currently works as a journalist covering labour and environmental issues. McKee is a leader within the Communist Party of Canada's Ontario section.

About the Riding

Davenport has been one of Toronto's most competitive progressive battlegrounds in recent elections. In 2021, Dzerowicz held the seat by a mere 76 votes over the NDP's Alejandra Bravo, and the riding's progressive voter base has been split between Liberal and NDP candidates in every election since 2015. The 2025 race was no exception, with Sousa mounting an energetic campaign rooted in community organizing and housing affordability advocacy.

The riding's transformation from a working-class immigrant neighbourhood to a gentrifying urban enclave has created tension around housing costs and displacement. Long-term residents, many from the Portuguese and Latin American communities that defined the riding's character for decades, have faced rising rents and property taxes as the neighbourhood attracts wealthier newcomers. Transit infrastructure, including the Bloor-Danforth subway line and streetcar routes, makes the area accessible but has also accelerated the pace of change.

In 2025, the cost of living, housing affordability, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were prominent campaign issues. Sousa's founding of Davenport For Palestine injected the Middle East debate directly into the riding's politics, creating friction between her campaign and the Liberal incumbent. Dzerowicz ultimately held the seat with a more comfortable margin than in 2021, benefiting from the broader Liberal recovery under Mark Carney's leadership, but the riding's three-way progressive dynamic ensures that Davenport will remain competitive territory for future elections.