Markham—Stouffville

Markham—Stouffville was held by Progressive Conservative Paul Calandra, who had won the seat in 2018 by defeating long-time Liberal MPP Helena Jaczek. Calandra had previously served as a federal Conservative Member of Parliament, winning election to the House of Commons in 2008 and 2011 and serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. At the provincial level, he served as Government House Leader beginning in 2019, making him a key figure in managing the Ford government’s legislative agenda. The riding straddles the suburban and semi-rural communities of eastern Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville, an area experiencing rapid population growth.

The contest shaped up primarily as a two-way race between Calandra and the Liberal challenger, in a riding where the Liberals had historically been competitive.

Candidates

Paul Calandra (Progressive Conservative) — A former small business owner and insurance broker who had also served as chief of staff to PC MPP Steve Gilchrist during the Harris government. Calandra was elected federally in 2008 and re-elected in 2011 before entering provincial politics in 2018. As Government House Leader, he was responsible for steering the PC government’s bills through the Legislature.

Kelly Dunn (Liberal) — A high school history and social science teacher with more than 20 years of experience and a Markham resident since 2003. Dunn was active in community organizations including the Women’s Liberal Association of York Region, the Social Planning Council of York Region, and York Communities for Public Education.

Kingsley Kwok (NDP) — A respiratory therapist working in the critical care and emergency departments at Scarborough General Hospital. Kwok was a co-founder of the Scarborough Health Coalition and an organizer of the Justice for Workers campaign.

Myles O’Brien ran for the Green Party, Jennifer Gowland for the New Blue Party, and Michele Petit for the Ontario Party.

Local Issues

Healthcare capacity was a major concern in Markham—Stouffville, where an estimated 14,000 residents lacked a family doctor and that number was growing. Markham Stouffville Hospital had undergone a major expansion in 2013, doubling in size, but the pace of population growth in the surrounding communities was outstripping healthcare infrastructure. Emergency department visits were increasing steadily as the communities of Markham and Stouffville continued to add residents.

Residential development and urban sprawl were reshaping the riding. Whitchurch-Stouffville’s population had grown by nearly nine percent between 2016 and 2021, with new subdivisions spreading outward along the Highway 404 corridor. This growth brought traffic congestion and pressure on municipal services, while longer-term residents in the more rural parts of Stouffville expressed concern about the loss of agricultural land and small-town character.

The riding’s diverse population — Markham has one of the highest proportions of visible minority residents of any municipality in Canada — brought issues of immigration and credential recognition into the local conversation. Many internationally trained professionals living in the riding faced barriers to practising in their fields, a problem the Ford government had begun to address through legislation removing Canadian experience requirements for certain regulated professions.