Elgin--St. Thomas--London South

Elgin--St. Thomas--London South is a newly created riding in southwestern Ontario, established through the 2022 redistribution to replace the former Elgin--Middlesex--London. The riding stretches from the rapidly growing southern edge of the City of London southward through the agricultural heartland of Elgin County to the Lake Erie shoreline. It includes the Railway City of St. Thomas, the beach towns of Port Stanley, Port Bruce, and Port Burwell, the town of Aylmer, and the municipalities of Central Elgin, Southwold, Bayham, and Malahide. With no incumbent running--former MP Karen Vecchio announced in 2024 she would not seek re-election--the riding was an open contest in 2025.

Candidates

Andrew Lawton (Conservative)* is a journalist, author, and broadcaster who won the riding in his first run for elected office. Born in Trenton, Ontario, and raised in London, Lawton holds a degree in political science and history from the University of Western Ontario and taught journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University. He hosted a daily talk radio program on 980 CFPL in London before becoming managing editor of True North, a conservative media outlet. He is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books, including a biography of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Lawton is also a suicide survivor and mental health advocate who volunteers on the board of Suicide Prevention Middlesex-London.

David Goodwin (Liberal) was born and raised in Elgin County, where his family operated Goodwin Furniture in St. Thomas for a century until 1970. He holds a degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a diploma in data analytics from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Goodwin works as a director at AGF Financial in Toronto while living in St. Thomas. He campaigned heavily on the threat of US tariffs to the region's agricultural sector.

Paul Pighin (NDP) is a London native and former member of the Canadian national gymnastics team who competed through to the 1991 World Championships. He has served as a constituency assistant to London Fanshawe MPs Irene and Lindsay Mathyssen and has spent two decades advocating for people living with HIV/AIDS and for disability rights. He previously ran provincially for the NDP in 2007.

Stephen Campbell (People's Party - PPC) also stood as a candidate in the riding.

About the Riding

Elgin--St. Thomas--London South blends urban growth with rural tradition. The southern fringe of London, one of the fastest-growing areas in southwestern Ontario, brings suburban development pressures that contrast sharply with the agricultural communities further south. St. Thomas, with a population of roughly 43,000, is the riding's commercial centre and a city with deep railroad heritage--it was a major rail junction in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and remains home to the Elgin County Railway Museum.

Agriculture is the economic backbone across much of the riding, with cash crops, tobacco (historically), livestock, and greenhouse operations sustaining the rural economy. Port Stanley and the other Lake Erie beach towns draw seasonal tourism. The southern edge of London contributes a growing suburban and commercial tax base.

In 2025, US trade threats dominated the campaign in a riding heavily dependent on agricultural exports. Canola, soybean, and livestock producers faced potential tariff disruption that could devastate local farm incomes. At an all-candidates debate focused on agriculture, the four candidates offered sharply different approaches to supporting farmers. Healthcare access--especially the shortage of family physicians in smaller communities--was a persistent concern, as was the cost of living for residents in a region where wages tend to lag behind those in larger urban centres. The race was competitive, with Lawton's media profile and Goodwin's deep local roots making for a closely watched contest.