Toronto Centre

Toronto Centre is a dense urban riding in the heart of downtown Toronto, encompassing neighbourhoods including the Church-Wellesley Village, St. James Town, Cabbagetown, Regent Park, and parts of the waterfront. The seat was held by NDP MPP Suze Morrison, who had won it from the Liberals in 2018, flipping what had been a long-held Liberal riding previously represented by Glen Murray. Morrison announced she would not seek re-election in 2022, citing a need to undergo treatment for endometriosis, leaving the seat open.

The contest to succeed Morrison attracted high-profile candidates from the NDP and Liberals, with the race seen as a test of whether the Liberals could reclaim a downtown Toronto seat they had held for years before the 2018 NDP wave.

Candidates

Kristyn Wong-Tam (NDP) — Wong-Tam resigned from Toronto City Council to seek the NDP nomination in Toronto Centre. They had served as a city councillor since 2010, first elected in Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale and subsequently in the redrawn Ward 13 Toronto Centre. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood, Wong-Tam was a former small business owner who co-founded the Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area and had operated a contemporary art gallery. Their council work focused on urban development, small business advocacy, and LGBTQ+ community issues.

David Morris (Liberal) — Morris served as chair of The 519 Community Centre, which provides services to thousands of newcomers, refugees, and local residents. He also worked with Toronto’s People with AIDS Foundation.

Jess Goddard (Progressive Conservative) — Goddard was described as a young urban professional who worked as a writer and was a renter who relied on public transit.

Nicki Ward (Green Party) — Ward was a community advocate with a focus on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, and environmentalism. She had been involved with Green politics since joining the European Green Movement in the early 1970s.

Steve Hoehlmann ran for the New Blue Party, Ivan Byard for the Communist Party, Ron Shaw for the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party, and Jennifer Snell for Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda.

Local Issues

Housing affordability and homelessness were the most pressing issues in Toronto Centre. The riding contained some of the city’s highest concentrations of renters, including the densely populated St. James Town neighbourhood, one of the most densely populated areas in Canada. The average cost of purchasing a home in Ontario had nearly tripled since 2011, and rents in downtown Toronto continued to climb. Tent encampments in parks had become more visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, and residents debated the adequacy of the provincial government’s investments in affordable and supportive housing.

The opioid crisis and mental health supports were urgent concerns in the riding’s downtown core. The Church-Wellesley neighbourhood and surrounding areas experienced rising overdose rates, and harm reduction services were stretched thin. Residents and service providers called for greater provincial investment in safe consumption sites, treatment beds, and community mental health programs.

Small business recovery from the pandemic was also a significant local issue. Many shops, restaurants, and cultural venues in the riding had struggled through successive lockdowns, and business owners sought provincial support for economic recovery. The riding’s LGBTQ+ community, centred on the Church-Wellesley Village, had a strong organizational presence and pushed candidates on issues of equity, anti-discrimination protections, and community funding.