Thornhill

Thornhill is a suburban riding in York Region straddling the cities of Vaughan and Markham, immediately north of Toronto. The riding is home to one of Canada’s largest Jewish communities, alongside significant Russian, Iranian, Korean, and Italian populations. First-term PC MPP Laura Smith won the seat in 2022 after predecessor Gila Martow chose not to seek re-election. During her first term, Smith served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and introduced Bill 121, the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act, legislation drawn from her personal experience as a caregiver for two family members living with dementia. The bill, which required the province to develop a framework for improved dementia care and review training standards for personal support workers, was passed into law. Smith entered the 2025 election with a strong incumbency advantage in a historically Conservative riding.

Candidates

Laura Smith (Progressive Conservative) — A legal professional who owned and managed a litigation support company in the Greater Toronto Area for more than 25 years, Smith studied political science at York University and legal administration at Seneca College. She has been active in community organizations, including serving as a director of the Thornhill Thunder Soccer Club.

Ben Dooley (Liberal) — A policy advisor with experience in human rights and good governance, Dooley worked alongside General Roméo Dallaire at the Montreal Institute for Global Security and with former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler’s Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He attended Associated Hebrew Schools and Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto in Thornhill before pursuing a career in public policy.

Faiz Qureshi (NDP) — Qureshi ran as the NDP candidate in Thornhill, seeking to build the party’s presence in a riding where the NDP has historically finished third or fourth.

Marcelo Levy (Green Party), Luca Mele (New Blue Party), and Aleksei Polyakov (Ontario Moderate Party) also ran.

Local Issues

The Yonge North Subway Extension was the defining infrastructure project shaping Thornhill’s future. The extension, which would bring the TTC’s Line 1 subway from Finch Station into York Region with new stations at Steeles, Clark, Royal Orchard, Bridge, and High Tech, promised to transform the riding’s accessibility and development patterns. During the 2022–2025 term, transit-oriented community planning advanced around the proposed station areas, and developers responded with ambitious proposals, including dual 60-storey towers near the future Clark Station and a 40-storey development at Morgan Avenue. While residents welcomed improved rapid transit, many pushed back against the scale of intensification planned for what had long been a low-rise suburban community.

Housing and development density were closely tied to the transit debate. The provincial government announced plans to facilitate more than 40,000 new homes near transit in York Region, with transit-oriented communities designated at future stations along the Yonge extension. Longtime residents expressed concern about the impact of high-rise development on neighbourhood character, traffic, and local services.

Healthcare capacity continued to be relevant. Mackenzie Health’s Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, which opened in 2021 as the first net-new hospital in Ontario in more than 30 years, was gradually expanding its services, but York Region’s rapid population growth kept pressure on the health system. Smith’s successful passage of the Improving Dementia Care in Ontario Act addressed one dimension of the healthcare conversation, reflecting the riding’s aging population and the growing demand for seniors’ care services.