By Paul Lewkowicz

This is a special year because we will have not one but two elections! The provincial election will take place on June 7 and on October 22 we’ll have the municipal election.

With these two elections come new electoral boundaries. As a result, Centennial will be located in a new provincial riding and a new municipal ward.

Provincial Election

In 2015, new riding boundaries were used in the federal election. Under provincial law, with the exception of Northern Ontario, provincial riding boundaries must match federal ridings.

As a result, in the June provincial election, the current provincial riding of Pickering-Scarborough East will no longer exist. Centennial will now be part of the new riding of Scarborough-Rouge Park. The new riding’s boundaries are: the border with Markham to the north, the border with Pickering to the east, Lake Ontario to the south, and Rouge River-Neilson Road-Highway 401-Morningside Avenue to the west. In addition to Centennial, the new riding will contain the communities of Highland Creek and West Rouge and portions of Malvern and West Hill.

The current Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Pickering-Scarborough East, Tracy MacCharles, has announced her retirement. As a result, Centennial is guaranteed to have a new MPP.

Scarborough-Rouge Park Candidates

City of Toronto Municipal Election

On October 22, the city will vote to elect a mayor, councillor and school board trustee. Due to provincial legislation, the campaign period will be shorter and will begin on May 1 (whereas previously it began on January 1).

Due to some wards having seen high population growth, City Council hired an independent consultant to review existing ward boundaries. From 2014 to 2016, after three rounds of public consultation, the consultant recommended new boundaries that increased the number of wards from 44 to 47. The new boundaries were approved by Toronto City Council in November 2016 and were finalized in March 2018 after appeals to the Ontario Municipal Board and Superior Court.

Centennial will now be a part of the newly created Ward 47. The new ward’s boundaries will be: Highway 401 to the north, the border with Pickering to the east, Lake Ontario to the south, and Morningside Avenue and West Hill Creek to the west. The new ward will have a total population of nearly 51,000, slightly below the new average ward population of 61,000. In addition to Centennial, the new ward will contain the communities of Highland Creek, West Rouge and portions of West Hill.

Centennial will now be in Toronto District School Board Ward 22 (Wards 46 and 47) and Toronto Catholic District School Board Ward 8 (Wards 44, 45 and 47). Centennial will likely remain in the same French Public School Board ward and French Catholic school board ward.

For more information, visit www.toronto.ca/elections.