Milton

Milton is a rapidly growing community in Halton Region west of Toronto that has transformed from a rural town into a suburban centre of approximately 133,000 people as of the 2021 census, a population increase of over 20 percent from 2016. Milton was one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada during that period. Progressive Conservative Parm Gill won the riding in 2018 and subsequently served in cabinet as Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. The 2022 contest was expected to be competitive, with the Liberals viewing the riding as a potential pickup.

Candidates

Parm Gill (Progressive Conservative) — Gill previously served as a federal Conservative Member of Parliament for Brampton—Springdale from 2011 to 2015, where he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs. He holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University. After winning the provincial seat in 2018, he was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism in 2021.

Sameera Ali (Liberal) — Ali served as a Town Councillor for Ward 4 of Milton. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Public Relations and has over 15 years of experience in managing multilingual public relations and marketing campaigns. She served on the Milton Youth Task Force and as the Community Director for the Milton Halal Food Bank.

Katherine Cirlincione (NDP) — Cirlincione is a human resources and training professional who founded a non-profit organization during the pandemic that provided assistance to over 1,000 families in the Milton area.

The remaining candidates included Oriana Knox for the Green Party, John Spina for the New Blue Party, and Masood Khan for Consensus Ontario.

Local Issues

The dominant issue in Milton was managing the consequences of extraordinary population growth. The town was planning for more than 100,000 additional residents over the coming decades, and residents raised persistent concerns about whether infrastructure — roads, schools, and health services — could keep pace. New subdivisions continued to replace farmland on the town’s western outskirts, bringing questions about the balance between growth and preserving Milton’s small-town character.

Highway 413 was a significant wedge issue in the campaign. The proposed highway, which would run through parts of Peel and Halton regions, was a signature promise of the Ford government. Supporters argued it would relieve congestion for commuters, while opponents — including the NDP, Liberals, and Greens, as well as several local municipalities — raised concerns about its environmental impact on the Greenbelt and questioned the claimed travel time savings.

Transit was another key concern. Milton GO line commuters had long sought expanded two-way, all-day service, and the province’s commitment to improving GO rail corridors was closely watched. The pandemic also underscored the need for expanded local health care facilities to serve the rapidly growing population.