London Centre

London Centre covers the northern half of London, Ontario, bounded roughly by Wonderland Road and Wharncliffe Road to the west, the Thames River and Oxford Street to the south, Highbury Avenue to the east, and the city limits to the north. The riding is home to Western University and its affiliated colleges, the University and St. Joseph's hospitals, the city's downtown commercial core, and a mix of student-dense neighbourhoods, established residential areas, and growing suburban communities in the north end. Formerly known as London North Centre, the riding was renamed under the 2022 redistribution.

Candidates

Peter Fragiskatos (Liberal) is the incumbent, first elected in 2015 and winning his fourth consecutive term in 2025 by a wide margin. Born in 1981 to a family of Greek descent, Fragiskatos earned his BA from Western University, an MA from Queen's University, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where his doctoral research focused on Kurdish human rights. Before entering politics, he was a political science professor at Huron University College and King's University College, both affiliated with Western. His grandmother, Panagiota, emigrated from Greece after World War II and later organized for the NDP under Tommy Douglas and Stephen Lewis.

Stephen Gallant (Conservative) is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran who served nine years as an infantry officer, leaving at the rank of captain. He built a career spanning nearly 30 years in the financial services industry. A dedicated community volunteer, Gallant served for almost nine years with the Ark Aid Street Mission, a downtown London food kitchen, rising to become Chairman of the Board.

Dirka Prout (NDP) is a lead geotechnical engineer and project manager with more than 25 years of professional experience on provincial and municipal infrastructure projects across southern Ontario. She holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. A two-time previous NDP candidate in the riding, Prout co-chaired the federal NDP's Women Commission from 2015 to 2018 and served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Unity Project for the Relief of Homelessness in London from 2022 to 2025.

Mary Ann Hodge (Green Party) ran on a platform emphasizing environmental sustainability and community-centred development.

David Annis (People's Party) campaigned on reduced government spending and individual freedoms.

Bruce Lamb (Canadian Future Party) also stood as a candidate.

About the Riding

Western University, with an enrollment exceeding 40,000 students, is the dominant institution in London Centre, shaping the riding's demographics, economy, and housing market. The university and its affiliated teaching hospitals are among the city's largest employers, and the student population drives demand for rental housing in the neighbourhoods surrounding campus. London's health sciences cluster, anchored by the Schulich School of Medicine, draws research investment and medical professionals to the riding.

Downtown London has undergone a gradual revitalization, with new mixed-use developments and cultural investments, but the city centre has also grappled with visible homelessness and social-services strain. The opioid crisis and mental health supports were recurring campaign themes. Housing affordability, particularly for renters and young families, intensified as a concern during the early 2020s as London's population grew and rental vacancy rates fell to historic lows.

In 2025, the riding's large university and hospital workforce gave pocketbook issues and public-sector employment a particular resonance. US trade tensions, while less immediately felt than in manufacturing-heavy ridings, raised broader economic uncertainty. Fragiskatos's commanding margin reflected both the strength of the Liberal brand under Mark Carney and the riding's established lean toward the party in recent cycles.