Ottawa South (federal electoral district)

Ottawa South () is a federal electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by David McGuinty, brother of former Premier of Ontario and Ottawa South MPP Dalton McGuinty. It has been held continuously by Liberal candidates since it was first contested in 1988, and is regarded as one of the strongest Liberal ridings in Canada. Ottawa South is a suburban, generally middle class riding, notable for having the highest Arab population in Ontario.

Geography The riding is located within the city of Ottawa. It is bounded on the north and east by Highway 417, on the west by the Rideau River and on the south by a line beginning at the Rideau River and Hunt Club Road, then east to Limebank Road, south to Leitrim Road, east to the CP Rail line, north to Lester Road, then east along Lester and Davidson Road to Conroy Road, north to Hunt Club Road and east along Hunt Club and its prolongation to Highway 417. Neighbouring districts include Ottawa—Vanier to the north, Orléans to the east, Carleton to the south and Ottawa West—Nepean and Ottawa Centre to the west.

Ottawa South comprises the neighbourhoods of Riverview, Eastway Gardens, Alta Vista, Riverside Park, Billings Bridge, Heron Park, Mooney's Bay, Hunt Club Woods, Hunt Club Estate, Hunt Club Chase, South Keys, Ellwood, Heron Gate, Sheffield Glen, Airport-Uplands, Elizabeth Park, Windsor Park Village, and Blossom Park in the city of Ottawa. The total area is . There are 233 polling divisions.

Party support The Liberal Party has held the riding since its creation in 1988. The closest election was a 7% Liberal win in 2006. The riding has voted Liberal even during Progressive Conservative and Conservative governments. The New Democratic Party received its greatest level of support in the 2021 election at 19%. The Greens saw their highest vote here in 2008 with 7%.

Political geography

The Liberals have support in most parts of the riding. In the 2004 election, the strongest Liberal areas were in the Alta Vista neighbourhood. However, in the 2006 election, they lost some of this support, but it was gained from lower income areas such as Heron Gate. By 2008, the Liberals had gained much of their support back in Alta Vista.

The Conservatives have their strongest amount in the southern parts of the riding, especially in the community of Blossom Park and around the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport By 2006, the Conservatives had won the neighbourhood of Elmvale Acres, but this was lost in 2008. The New Democrats have only won one poll in recent memory, and that was a poll in Heron Gate in 2004.

Demographics According to the 2021 Canadian census

Ethnic groups: 52.2% White, 14.7% Black, 12.4% Arab, 4.9% South Asian, 3.6% Indigenous, 3.3% Chinese, 2.2% Filipino, 1.8% Latin American, 1.6% West Asian, 1.2% Southeast Asian, Languages: 51.1% English, 10.6% French, 9.7% Arabic, 2.1% Somali, 1.8% Spanish, 1.5% Mandarin, 1.0% Italian, 1.0% Tagalog Religions: 51.1% Christian (28.0% Catholic, 3.4% Anglican, 3.1% Christian Orthodox, 2.7% United Church, 1.3% Pentecostal, 12.6% Other), 18.1% Muslim, 1.6% Hindu, 1.1% Jewish, 25.9% None Median income: $42,000 (2020) Average income: $55,600 (2020)

Riding associations

Riding associations are the local branches of national political parties:

The list of registered riding associations is available from Elections Canada. Party Association name President HQ CityOttawa South Conservative AssociationMichael McNeilOttawaOttawa South Green Party AssociationNira DookeranOttawaOttawa South Federal Liberal AssociationRichard PommainvilleOttawaOttawa South Federal NDP Riding AssociationMorgan K. GayOttawaOttawa South PPC AssociationXavier A. BolanosOttawa

History The district was created in 1987. 65.7% was from Ottawa—Carleton, 20.1% from Ottawa Centre and 14.2% from Ottawa—Vanier. At the time, it was bounded on the west by the Rideau River, on the north by the Queensway, on the east by the city limits at the time, and on the south by the following line (from west to east beginning at the Rideau River): Ottawa city limits, River Road, Limebank Road, Leitrim Road, Canadian Pacific Railway, Lester Road (allowance for a road between lots 10 and 11, Concession 3 in Gloucester Township, Albion Road, Walkley Road.

1996 Redistribution

Following the 1996 redistribution, the riding added the neighbourhood of Hunt Club Park from Carleton—Gloucester, by changing the southeastern boundary to the city limits at the time (from Walkley to Conroy).

2003 Redistribution

Following the 2003 redistribution, the riding's eastern boundary was changed to Highway 417 from the former city limits. The boundary would follow Highway 417 from the Rideau River until Hunt Club Road. This shift added in a small piece of territory that was in Ottawa—Vanier and Ottawa—Orléans riding.

2012 Redistribution

Only a minor change to the riding's boundaries occurred followed the 2012 redistribution of Canada's ridings. Ottawa South lost all of its territory south of Hunt Club Road and West of Riverside Drive. This area, which only had 27 people as of the Canada 2011 CensusPopulation corresponds to Census Block 3506148710 was transferred to the new riding of Carleton.

2022 Redistribution

The 2022 Federal Redistribution pushed the riding boundaries southward to encompass the growing neighbourhood of Findlay Creek, formerly part of the Carleton riding. It also took away the north-west corner of the riding. The area between the Rideau River and Bank Street in the east to the Railway Tracks to the south, encompassing the neighbourhoods of Riverside Park, Billings Bridge and Heron Park were moved to the Ottawa Centre riding. The new boundaries came into effect upon the calling of the 2025 Canadian federal election.

Members of Parliament

The riding has elected the following members of Parliament:

Current member of Parliament The member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa South is David McGuinty, a former businessman, immigration officer, lawyer and professor. He was first elected in 2004. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Election results

2025 Incumbent Liberal MP David McGuinty ran again, and was challenged by police officer Blair Turner of the Conservatives. Turner is the son of former Progressive Conservative MP for Ottawa—Carleton Barry Turner. Running for the NDP was civil servant Hena Masjedee, and the Green candidate was community organizer Nira Dookeran.

2021 2021 federal election redistributed results Party Vote % Liberal 29,250 49.41 Conservative 15,963 26.97 New Democratic 10,729 18.12 People's 1,829 3.09 Green 1,300 2.20 Communist 124 0.21 Total valid votes 59,195 99.04 Rejected ballots 575 0.96 Registered voters/ estimated turnout 90,887 65.76

Incumbent Liberal MP David McGuinty faced a re-match against local businessman Eli Tannis of the Conservative Party. The NDP ran national security expert Huda Mukbil. McGuinty easily won re-election with a slightly reduced majority, while the NDP had its strongest federal result in the riding's history, besting its prior high-water mark in 2011.

2019 Incumbent MP David McGuinty ran for re-election, and was challenged by Conservative Eli Tannis, a Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur, New Democrat Morgan Gay, a community organizer and Green Les Schram, a self employed consultant. Despite winning 5,000 fewer votes than he had four years earlier, he easily held off the challenge from his nearest (Conservative) rival, with more than double the latter's total.

2015 While the Liberals were the third party in Parliament, David McGuinty served as the Liberal Party's critic for Natural Resources (2011–2012), Industry (2013) and the Privy Council Office (2013–2015). He was easily re-elected in 2015 when the Liberals were swept into power. He defeated the Conservative candidate, Dev Balkissoon, a consulting firm owner by over 23,000 votes. Balkissoon was criticized during the campaign for missing an all-candidates debate. The NDP candidate was George Brown, a former Ottawa City councillor for Riverside Ward (1985–1994), and the Green candidate was John Redins, a disabilities rights activist.

2011 federal election redistributed resultsPundits' Guide to Canadian Elections Party Vote % Liberal 25,954 44.01 Conservative 19,626 33.28 New Democratic 10,709 18.16 Green 1,787 3.03 Others 895 1.52

2011

While in opposition, McGuinty was promoted to the position of the Official Opposition House leader. Once again, he faced and defeated Elie Salibi, the Conservative candidate. McGuinty was one of only 34 Liberals elected to the House of Commons in the election, and both he and Salibi saw a reduction in their percentage of votes. The NDP candidate, James McLaren, a teacher, had the second best (after 2021) performance for the NDP in riding history, despite a mid-campaign controversy regarding comments he made on Facebook.

2008

In opposition, McGuinty served as the Liberal Party's environment critic. He faced nominal opposition from three lesser-known candidates. The Conservative candidate was Elie Salibi, the director of international sales with Corel, who was born in Lebanon. The NDP candidate was Hijal De Sarkar, a Carleton University political science student of Bengali descent. The Green candidate was Qais Ghanem, a doctor, born in Yemen. Former Libertarian Party leader Jean-Serge Brisson also ran, as well as Al Gullon, the Progressive Canadian candidate. Facing lower turnout in the riding itself, as well as nationwide, and a strong lack of enthusiasm for the Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, McGuinty was able to increase his vote total, and his lead over his closest opponent, from the 2006 election. McGuinty just barely missed the 50% mark, but was nonetheless re-elected handily in Ottawa South.

Nomination contests

Liberal Party of CanadaCandidateResidence ?David McGuintyOttawaX

Conservative Party of CanadaCandidateResidenceFebruary 23, 2007Elie SalibiOttawa 278George M. Brown Ottawa 182

New Democratic PartyCandidateResidenceSeptember 11, 2008Hijal De SarkarOttawa X

Green Party of CanadaCandidateResidenceJune 16, 2007Qais GhanemOttawaXPeter TretterOttawa

2006

David McGuinty was re-elected after two years as a Liberal backbencher. The race was expected to be closer than 2004, which it was, as McGuinty faced a tough challenge from Conservative Allan Cutler. Cutler was the whistleblower in the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal which saw millions of dollars of public funds transferred to Liberal friendly firms in Quebec during the Chrétien era. The margin of victory between the liberal and his conservative challenger was closer than in 2004, but McGuinty eventually came out on top. Cutler himself was painted as a hypocrite as he would not address the issue of his nomination. Accusations started that 2004 candidate Alan Riddell was given $50,000 not to stand for nomination in the race. Riddell was also pushed aside in an earlier nomination race that saw former MP Barry Turner acclaimed, but would later drop out, forcing a new race. Running for the NDP was the Lebanese-born economist Henri Sader who faced a difficult challenge holding on to the votes that Monia Mazigh won in the previous election. Running again for Greens again was John Ford who failed to hold on to his votes, and running for the Progressive Canadian Party again was Brad Thomson who lost votes as well. Thomson had all but dropped out however, endorsing McGuinty. The Marijuana Party planned to run Tim Meehan, but he did not gain ballot access.

Nomination contests

Ottawa South (federal electoral district)

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