Davenport is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935.

Demographics The Davenport electoral district has the highest percentage of ethnic Portuguese of all Canadian federal districts (27.4%), and the highest percentage of European immigrants (28.5%, of whom 25.0% are from Southern Europe, and 19.2% from Southern European countries other than Italy), in all of Canada. It also has the highest percentage of native speakers of Portuguese (20.7%) and of Romance languages other than the French language of Canada (32.0%, with many Italian and Spanish). The same holds true for home language (Portuguese: 14.0%; non-French Romance languages: 21.2%, both Canadian riding records)

According to the 2021 Canadian census; 2013 representation

Languages: 54.2% English, 14.3% Portuguese, 4.9% Spanish, 3.4% Italian, 2.3% Yue, 1.6% Vietnamese, 1.5% French, 1.3% Tagalog, 1.1% Mandarin Religions: 48.2% Christian (35.6% Catholic, 1.9% Christian Orthodox, 1.3% Anglican), 40.5% No religion, 3.4% Jewish, 3% Muslim, 2.3% Buddhist, 1.4% Hindu Median income (2020): $40,400 Average income (2020): $55,550

+ Panethnic groups in Davenport (2011−2021)Panethnic group202120162011 European 68,315 71,850 67,215 African 7,100 6,885 6,745 East Asian 6,975 7,770 6,590 Latin American 6,130 5,850 6,715 Southeast Asian 5,600 5,195 6,165 South Asian 4,820 4,545 4,065 Indigenous 1,205 1,260 1,145 Middle Eastern 1,185 1,025 1,140 Other/multiracial 3,410 3,015 2,255 Total responses 104,735 107,395 102,040 Total population 105,946 108,473 102,360

2023 representation According to the 2021 Canadian census

Languages: 58.4% English, 15.1% Portuguese, 5.2% Spanish, 3.5% Italian, 2.3% French, 2.2% Cantonese, 1.6% Vietnamese, 1.6% Tagalog, 1.1% Mandarin Race: 63.7% White, 7.8% Black, 6.1% Latin American, 4.9% Chinese, 4.5% South Asian, 3.9% Filipino, 2.3% Southeast Asian, 1.1% Indigenous Religions: 51.1% Christian (37.5% Catholic, 2.0% Christian Orthodox, 1.3% Anglican, 10.3% other), 3.1% Jewish, 3.0% Muslim, 2.1% Buddhist, 1.4% Hindu, 38.0% none Median income: $39,600 (2020) Average income: $54,100 (2020)

Geography The district includes parts of west-end Toronto, and includes the neighbourhoods of Fairbank, Oakwood-Vaughan, St. Clair Gardens, Corso Italia, Dovercourt Village, Bloordale Village, Bloorcourt Village, Brockton Village, the Junction Triangle and the western part of Rua Acores.

History

Geography history The federal electoral district of Davenport was created by the Representation Act, 1933 that granted City of Toronto two new seats and converted its directionally named electoral districts and the Parkdale district to long and narrow north-south strips that stretched from the lake to the northern boundary of the city. The Davenport electoral district took in parts of the pre-existing Parkdale (remained) and Toronto Northwest (abolished), covering roughly the area between Dovercourt and Lansdowne north of College Street, and between Dovercourt and Dufferin south of College Street. It was situated between two other long north-south strip-shaped districts, Parkdale to the West and Trinity to the East. The strip-shaped districts were in used until the 1968 federal election, when Representation Order, 1966 took effect.

The 1966 Representation Order converted Davenport to roughly a square bound by Rogers to the north, Glenholme to the east, Bloor to the south, and Keele to the west.

The 1976 Representation Order removed most of Davenport s territory south of Dupont, and extend the district up to Eglinton.

Davenport's contemporary triangular form tracing the CN Rail tracks as its western boundary began to take shape with the 1987 Representation Order, which took effect at the 1988 election. While adjustments had been made since, the portion of the district south of Rogers between the rail tracks and Ossington has remained with the district since then.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the federal electoral district largely corresponded with the Dovercourt provincial electoral district. The provincial district caught up roughly to the square shape north of Bloor in the 1987 provincial election, just as the federal electoral district was moving toward the new triangular shape. A Davenport provincial electoral district was created in 1999 and it has aligned its boundary to the federal district's until 2025.

From 1988 to 2015, Davenport was geographically the smallest electoral district in Ontario, and was seconded in Canada only to the Papineau electoral district in Montreal. Since the implementation of the 2013 Representation Order at the 2015 federal election, Davenport has been the second smallest electoral district in Ontario after Toronto Centre.

Following the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, the 2023 Representation Order, implemented in the 2025 federal election, expanded Davenport slightly. The electoral district gained the area south of Eglinton Avenue and east of the CPR from York South—Weston (Keelesdale-Eglinton West), the area south of Vaughan Road and west of Winona Drive from Toronto—St. Paul's (in Oakwood Village), and the area north of Queen Street and west of Ossington Avenue (in Beaconsfield Village) from Spadina—Fort York.

Political history

Overview Since its creation, Davenport's federal representation largely followed the bigger trend of the city of Toronto. In the 28 general elections since its creation in 1933, the conservative claimed five victories in the district's early decades, and the NDP claimed it during the 2011 Orange Crush. The other 22 elections were won by the Liberals.

Before the 1960s, Toronto was a Tory town, and Davenport like its Toronto peers diligently returned Conservative members at every election except for the 1949 and 1953 election, when the Liberals won most of the Toronto seats while the Progressive Conservatives won respectively only 41 and 51 seats across the country.

From the federal election of 1962, Toronto became a Liberal bastion, with Davenport among its most dependable fortress. In the 20 federal general elections since 1962, the Liberals dominated the electoral map of "Old Toronto" (the group of electoral districts generally considered Toronto inner city ridings in the modern era) in 17 elections, haved failed to win the most seat only in three instances: the 1984 and 1988 election that delivered majorities to Mulroney led-Progressive Conservative, and in the 2011 election that delivered a majority to the Harper led Conservatives. Davenport was one of two electoral districts in Old Toronto (the other being Eglinton—Lawrence) that remained solidly Liberals through the Mulroney years.

Early Conservative holds At its inaugural election in 1935, Davenport returned incumbent Toronto Northwest MP Progressive Conservative MP John Ritchie MacNicol, and re-elected him in 1940 and 1945. MacNicol was a prominent player in the internal party machinery of the Conservative Party, was one of four honorary chairs of the provincial Conservative Party, the other three being a former prime minister and two former provincial premiers. He served as the national president of the Dominion Conservative Association, the local grassroots arm of the national party, in the early 1940s.

MacNicol was defeated in 1949 by future cabinet minister Paul Hellyer, who at age 26 was the youngest person elected parliament up to that point. He would later becoming a political figure of national prominence, the first cabinet minister to be conferred a formal title, Senior Minister, to signal precedent ahead of all cabinet colleagues except the Prime Minister. He later contested the federal party leadership of both the Liberal and the Conservative parties, and then found a fringe party of his own. He achieved national prominence and notoriety after he lost the Davenport seat in 1957 and re-entered parliament as the MP of neighbouring Trinity. He did however entered cabinet for the first time while MP for Davenport, shortly before he was defeated, as the junior minister of defence in the St. Laurent ministry.

In 1957, Hellyer was defeated by lawyer and Toronto Board of Education Chair Douglas Morton, who served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for two terms before being defeated in 1962. Morton was later appointed a family court judge.

A future deputy prime minister, a finance minister, and a dean of the house Morton was defeated in 1962 by Walter Gordon, who as the finance minister in the Pearson ministry was the standard bearer for expansion of social program and economic nationalism, while also an expenditure management hawk. Gordon was a close personal associate of both Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson and former Conservative Premier and federal leader George Drew, who coincidentally represented some small parts of district as the former MPP for High Park. Gordon was a key backer of local provincial Liberal MPP Andrew Thompson's successful provincial leadership bid in 1964, and of Pierre Trudeau's winning 1968 bid for the federal Liberal leadership.

Gordon was succeeded by Charles Caccia, who served as Davenport MP for ten parliamentary terms from 1968 to 2004. Caccia was a prominent voice of the Liberal left focused on environmental issues, and served as the Minister of the Environment in the Second Pierre Trudeau ministry and the Turner ministry. Upon the retirement of former Deputy Prime Minister Herb Grey in 2002, Caccia held the distinction as the Dean of the House, the longest serving member in the House of Commons, during the final two years of his tenure.

Red-orange rivalry In late 2003, Charles Caccia, a backer of the leadership bids of Jean Chretien and Sheila Copps over the years, faced an aggressive nomination challenge by a young local city councillor Mario Silva, a supporter of Paul Martin's leadership bid. Facing certain defeat after Martin force led by the youthful Silva trounced Copps force led by the elderly Caccia at the local leadership delegate selection vote 12-to-1, Caccia opted to stood down, and Silva went on to win the 2004 election and served as Davenport's Member of Parliament until 2011.

Liberals Walter Gordon and Charles Caccia (who himself held the seat for nearly 40 years) won the seat by increasing margins, finally culminating in a 17,500-vote majority in 1993. Meanwhile, the opposition parties in the constituency were shifting, and the New Democratic Party candidate beat the Progressive Conservative or Conservative candidate in every election since 1979 except at the most recent 2025 election. The NDP also have encouragements from their success at the provincial level, with provincial NDP leader Marit Stiles having an iron grip on the provincial seat, winning three consecutive election with close to 60% of the vote-share.

In 2011, Andrew Cash of the New Democratic Party won the seat by securing a 20-pt swing against Silva, becoming the first non-Liberal in 49 years to represent the riding. He however only served one term, and was defeated in 2015 by Liberal candidate Julie Dzerowicz with a tight 3-pt margin. Dzerowicz, a long time political advisor, became the first female Member of Parliament for Davenport. Dzerowicz and Cash entered a rematch in 2019, with Dzerowicz scraping a 3-pt victory over Cash again.

2021 Recount Having came within three points of winning in two consecutive elections, and with their fortune rising in the lead up of the 2021 election, Davenport was marked as the top target of the NDP campaign in Toronto. With a robust challenge from NDP candidate Alejandra Bravo (who would go on to become the riding's councillor soon after), the contest was the only one outside of Quebec that went to a judicial recount, in the 2021 cycle. The process certified the 76-vote victory for Dzerowicz.

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament: