Elgin—Middlesex—London

Incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Rob Flack sought a second term in this largely rural southwestern Ontario riding, which takes in the City of St. Thomas, the County of Elgin, Thames Centre in Middlesex County, and a portion of the City of London south of Highway 401. Flack had won the seat in 2022 following the retirement of long-serving PC MPP Jeff Yurek, and subsequently rose through government ranks — first as parliamentary assistant to the minister of agriculture, then as associate minister of housing, and finally as Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness from June 2024 onward. The riding’s economic outlook had shifted considerably since 2022, with the announcement of a major electric vehicle battery plant placing St. Thomas at the centre of Ontario’s EV manufacturing strategy.

Candidates

Rob Flack (Progressive Conservative) — Flack is a University of Guelph graduate who spent over four decades at Masterfeeds Inc., a London-based national animal nutrition company, eventually becoming its president and CEO. He also served as chair and president of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and operates a family cattle farm in the riding.

Douglas Mactavish (Liberal) — Mactavish grew up near St. Mary’s and operated a national chain of Mennonite Furniture stores for thirty years before retiring. He campaigned on the province’s healthcare crisis, pointing to the roughly two million Ontarians without a family doctor and cuts to local school board budgets.

Amanda Zavitz (NDP) — Zavitz is a sociology instructor at Fanshawe College and Western University who leads programming for the Coalition for Gender Equality. She withdrew from the race on February 20, 2025, after remarks she made at a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference in 2024 were resurfaced and drew criticism. Because the NDP did not notify Elections Ontario of her withdrawal, her name remained on the ballot.

Amanda Stark (Green Party), Brian Figueiredo (New Blue Party), Cooper Labrie (Ontario Party), and Stephen R Campbell (None of the Above Direct Democracy Party) also ran.

Local Issues

The largest economic development in the riding during the 2022–2025 term was Volkswagen’s announcement that its subsidiary PowerCo would build a $7-billion electric vehicle battery gigafactory in St. Thomas. The facility, spanning roughly 370 acres, was projected to create up to 3,000 direct jobs and produce up to 90 gigawatt hours of battery capacity annually, with production slated to begin in 2027. Site preparation was completed in 2023 and groundbreaking took place in 2024, transforming the community’s economic prospects and generating optimism about downstream supplier jobs.

Healthcare access remained a pressing concern across the riding. St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital served as the primary medical hub for a large rural catchment area, and residents continued to struggle with doctor shortages and long emergency room wait times. The Liberal candidate highlighted the province-wide shortage of family physicians and called for expanded medical training capacity.

Rural infrastructure was also a priority for voters. While the provincial government continued to invest in broadband expansion, many parts of Elgin County still lacked reliable high-speed internet. Agricultural producers sought continued investment in natural gas expansion and rural connectivity, even as the region navigated uncertainty around potential American tariffs that could affect cross-border trade.