Oshawa

Oshawa is a Durham Region city undergoing a generational transition from its roots as the home of General Motors of Canada to a diversified economy anchored by Ontario Tech University, Durham College, Trent University’s Durham campus, and the Lakeridge Health hospital system. Thousands of new residents had moved into the city’s growing northern subdivisions near Highway 407, many of them priced out of Toronto’s housing market. Jennifer French of the NDP had held the seat since 2014, when she first defeated long-serving PC MPP Jerry Ouellette, but her margins had narrowed in each subsequent election, winning by just over 750 votes in 2022. The Conservatives nominated that same former MPP, Ouellette, to try to reclaim the riding in 2025.

The race was among the most closely watched in the province, testing whether the NDP could hold a seat where its support had steadily declined against a well-known former incumbent running a disciplined campaign in a riding whose demographics were shifting with an influx of new residents.

Candidates

Jennifer French (NDP) — Originally from Winchester, Ontario, French studied biology at Queen’s University, taught for three years in Japan, then earned a master’s degree in science with a teaching specialty. She taught elementary school in Durham Region for eight years before winning the seat in 2014. During the 2022–2025 term, she served as the Official Opposition’s shadow minister for infrastructure and transportation.

Jerry J. Ouellette (Progressive Conservative) — Oshawa’s longest-serving MPP from 1995 to 2014, Ouellette held several senior roles during his five terms, including Minister of Natural Resources and chair of multiple legislative committees. After losing the seat to French in 2014, he sought to return a decade later in a low-profile, ground-game campaign.

Viresh Bansal (Liberal) — An information technology professional, Bansal had his campaign suspended by the Ontario Liberal Party on February 21, 2025, less than a week before election day, following the emergence of social media posts that drew condemnation from the World Sikh Organization and other community groups.

Nicholas Sirgool (Green Party) — Sirgool ran as the Green Party candidate in the riding.

Joe Ingino ran for the New Blue Party and Rahul Padmini Soumian as an independent.

Local Issues

The future of the GM Oshawa Assembly plant remained central to the riding’s economic identity. After the plant’s dramatic restart in 2021–2022 with Chevrolet Silverado production, General Motors announced in 2023 a $280-million investment in next-generation truck manufacturing at the facility, with plant upgrades proceeding through 2024. The investment provided a measure of stability, though workers and union leaders at Unifor Local 222 continued to monitor the plant’s long-term prospects amid the broader transition in the North American auto industry.

Health care infrastructure received significant attention during the term. In August 2024, the Ontario government announced a multi-phase redevelopment of the Lakeridge Health system across Durham Region, adding 300 new hospital beds and expanded services at campuses in Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, and Bowmanville. The province provided more than $12 million in capital planning grants to support the expansion. Despite these investments, residents continued to face long emergency department wait times and difficulty accessing family physicians.

Housing affordability remained an acute concern. The province had set a ten-year target of 23,000 new homes for Oshawa, but actual housing starts lagged behind building permits issued, with only 864 units started in 2023 against a provincial target of 1,687. Rental affordability was equally strained, and the city’s growing population placed additional pressure on schools, roads, and social services.