Pickering—Uxbridge

Pickering—Uxbridge straddles two contrasting communities in Durham Region: the rapidly growing suburban City of Pickering on the eastern edge of the Greater Toronto Area, and the rural Township of Uxbridge to the north. Progressive Conservative Peter Bethlenfalvy, who served as Ontario’s Minister of Finance, had held the seat since 2018 and was seeking re-election while simultaneously overseeing the province’s post-pandemic fiscal recovery.

Durham Region’s population grew nearly 15 percent between 2011 and 2021, and Pickering’s transformation into a major suburban centre was accelerating with the opening of the Pickering Casino Resort in July 2021, the first phase of the larger Durham Live entertainment complex.

Candidates

Peter Bethlenfalvy (Progressive Conservative) — Born in Montreal to Hungarian immigrants, Bethlenfalvy held a bachelor’s degree in physiology and an MBA from McGill University, along with a master’s degree from the University of Toronto. He brought over 25 years of experience in financial services, including serving as President and Chief Operating Officer of TD Securities. He became Ontario’s Minister of Finance in December 2020.

Ibrahim Daniyal (Liberal) — Daniyal was a small-business owner and financial advisor who had lived in Pickering-Uxbridge for over a decade. He held a Master’s degree in Administrative Sciences and a post-graduate diploma in Marketing Management from the Netherlands.

Khalid Ahmed (NDP) — Ahmed was a community leader who had lived in Pickering-Uxbridge for over a decade and had served on Seneca College’s Continuing Education Student Advisory Board.

Julia Rondinone (Green Party), Lisa Robinson (Ontario Party), Elizabeth Tallis (New Blue Party), Hasan Syed (Consensus Ontario), and Netalia Duboisky (Ontario Moderate Party) also ran.

Local Issues

Managing rapid growth was the central challenge in Pickering—Uxbridge. Pickering’s transformation was highlighted by the opening of the Pickering Casino Resort in 2021, with the broader Durham Live development promising hotels, convention space, an indoor water park, and film studios. However, residents questioned whether infrastructure—transit, schools, health care—was keeping pace with the surging population.

The contrast between urban Pickering and rural Uxbridge created distinct priorities within the riding. In Pickering, GO Transit commuter rail access and highway congestion were daily concerns for residents commuting into Toronto. In Uxbridge, the preservation of agricultural land and natural heritage areas against development pressure was a priority. Across both communities, health-care capacity and the province’s investments in education and childcare were concerns shared by one of the fastest-growing communities in Ontario.