Beaches—East York (formerly Beaches—Woodbine) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. This riding is situated east of Toronto's downtown.

According to the 2016 census, Beaches—East York has a population of 109,468 and is not known for its ethnic diversity compared to other ridings in Toronto. Consequently, it is 63.9% white, and has the highest percentage of people of English (24.2%), Canadian (19.7%), and Scottish (18.9%) ethnic origins of all ridings in the City of Toronto.

This riding has been historically represented by the political centre to left, with Maria Minna (Liberal) being its longest representative to date, holding the office for six terms. This riding has been represented by the Liberals and NDP for decades with majority of the races taking place between the two parties. The Conservatives placed second for the first time in the 2025 election, before falling back to third in the 2026 by-election.

Geography Beaches—East York is bordered by Coxwell Avenue to the west, the Don River and Sunrise Avenue to the north, Victoria Park Avenue to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south. The riding contains the neighbourhoods of the Beaches, Upper Beaches, East Danforth, O'Connor–Parkview, and part of Old East York.

History The federal riding of Beaches—Woodbine was created before the 1988 federal election from Beaches and York East ridings. Before the 1997 federal election, it adopted its current name.

The original boundary of the riding of Beaches-Woodbine began where the southern extension of Leslie Street intersects with Lake Ontario, proceeds north along Leslie Street, then east along Queen Street East, north along Greenwood Avenue, east along Gerrard Street East, and north along Coxwell Avenue until it turns into Coxwell Blvd. at O'Connor Drive.

It continues a short distance along this street where the boundary extends until it meets Taylor-Massey Creek. It follows the creek west (downstream) until it meets the Don River East Branch. The boundary follows the river northeast (upstream) until it meets the point where a westerly extension of Sunrise Avenue intersects with the river course.

The boundary continues east along Sunrise Avenue until it meets Victoria Park Avenue. The boundary turns south and follows the street south until it ends at Lake Ontario. The boundary follows the lake coast back west until it meets the beginning point.

In 2003, the western boundary was altered so that the portion west of Coxwell Avenue was transferred to the neighbouring riding of Toronto-Danforth. This riding was unchanged after the 2012 electoral redistribution.

Members of Parliament Since its creation as Beaches-Woodbine in 1988, Beaches—East York has been contested between Liberal and New Democratic candidates, with both parties nearly doubling Conservative vote totals.

Pre-2011 Hon. Maria Minna represented Beaches-East York for a record 18 straight years, as a member of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's and Prime Minister Paul Martin’s governments, and as a member of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition under Liberal Leaders Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.

2011 In the 2011 election the riding was won by New Democratic Party candidate Matthew Kellway, beating out Liberal incumbent Maria Minna by nearly 11%.

2015 Nathaniel Erskine-Smith defeated Matthew Kellway in the 2015 election by 10,345 votes. 2015 was Nathaniel Erskine-Smith’s first federal election.

2019 The incumbent MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith was re-elected with 32,168 votes. Mae J Nam was acclaimed as the NDP candidate on May 28, 2019 and was the runner-up, receiving 12,196 votes.

Summary Beaches—East York has elected the following members of Parliament:

Demographics According to the 2021 Canadian census

Languages: 67.9% English, 2.8% Bengali, 2.2% Cantonese, 1.8% French, 1.7% Greek, 1.6% Spanish, 1.4% Tagalog, 1.2% Urdu, 1.0% Italian

Religions: 43.3% Christian (20.0% Catholic, 5.3% Christian Orthodox, 4.1% Anglican, 2.7% United Church, 11.2% Other), 9.1% Muslim, 2.8% Hindu, 1.7% Jewish, 1.1% Buddhist, 40.6% None

Median income: $44,000 (2020)

Average income: $69,500 (2020)

+ Racial groups in Beaches—East York (2011−2021)Racial group202120162011 White 67,300 69,965 70,455 South Asian 12,290 11,820 11,015 Black 8,260 7,130 5,805 Chinese 5,635 6,155 6,060 Filipino 3,565 3,455 3,435 Latin American 2,225 1,490 1,310 Indigenous 1,980 2,055 1,990 West Asian 1,260 985 935 Arab 720 680 510 Southeast Asian 715 765 1,125 Korean 705 725 405 Japanese 635 740 565 Other 920 925 920 Multiple races 2,280 1,545 1,495 Total responses 108,500 108,435 106,030 Total population 109,359 109,468 107,084

Election results

Beaches—East York

2000 federal election redistributed resultsElection Prediction Project Party Vote %   Liberal 21,905 53.22   New Democratic 8,449 20.53   Progressive Conservative 5,574 13.54   Canadian Alliance 3,728 9.06   Others 1,506 3.66

1993 federal election redistributed resultsPundit's Guide to Canadian Elections - Internet Archive Party Vote %   Liberal 20,096 42.14   Reform 7,850 16.46   New Democratic 7,728 16.21   Progressive Conservative 5,811 12.19   Others 6,199 13.00

Beaches—Woodbine

1984 federal election redistributed results Party %   Progressive Conservative 37.4   New Democratic 34.9   Liberal 25.1   Others 2.6

See also List of Canadian electoral districts Historical federal electoral districts of Canada

References

Notes

Federal riding history for Beaches—Woodbine from the Library of Parliament Federal riding history for Beaches—East York from the Library of Parliament Expenditures

Citations