Downsview was a provincial
riding in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It was created for the
1963 provincial election, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. Downsview was located in
North York
North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...
, which was previously part of
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...
and is now part of the City of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. It was formed from part of the original riding of
York Centre
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
. In 1996 it was merged into a newly reconstituted riding of the same name.
For most of its history, Downsview was a hotly contested marginal seat between the
Liberals and the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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. Its final representative, however, was a
Progressive Conservative:
Annamarie Castrilli
Annamarie Castrilli is a former politician, lawyer, educator and rights advocate in Ontario, Canada.
Background
Castrilli was educated at the University of Toronto, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969, a Master of Arts degree in 1970, a ...
was elected as a Liberal in 1995, but crossed parties on the last sitting day of the legislature before the
1999 election.
The riding's demographics and boundaries shifted throughout its existence. In the 1960s, it consisted of the area of the borough of North York between
Bathurst Street and
Keele Street
Keele Street is a north–south road in Toronto, Vaughan and King in Ontario, Canada. It stretches , running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. South of Bloor Street, the roadway is today known as Parkside Drive, but was originally ...
. During this period, the riding had a large Jewish community, representing about 40% of the population.
In the 1975 election, the eastern, predominantly Jewish section of the riding was redistributed to the riding of
Wilson Heights and the riding became predominantly
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
.
Odoardo Di Santo
Odoardo Di Santo (born June 25, 1934) is a politician and administrator in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Background
Di Santo was born in Rocc ...
, elected as a New Democrat in 1975, was one of the first three Italian-Canadians to serve in the Ontario legislature.
Members of Provincial Parliament
Electoral results
References
Notes
Citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downsview (provincial electoral district)
Former provincial electoral districts of Ontario
Provincial electoral districts of Toronto