No Conservatives MPs with federal seats in T.O now
But these Tory candidates hope to change that
Kris Scheuer
John Carmichael is running for the third time as a Conservative candidate in Don Valley West.
The federal election is May 2, and the Conservatives want a seat in Toronto.
I will also post all candidates running for the Liberals, Green Party and NDP as they are nominated.
This post focuses on Conservative candidates running for federal seats in the 22 Toronto ridings:
1)York-Centre Conservative candidate Mark Adler.
2)York South-Weston Conservative candidate Jilian Saweczko.
3)York West Conservative candidate Audrey Walters.
4)St. Paul’s Conservative candidate Maureen Harquail.
5) Scarborough Rouge-River Conservative candidate Marlene Gallyot.
6)Scarborough-Guildwood Conservative candidate Kazimierz “Chuck” Konkel.
7)Scarborough-Centre Conservative candidate Roxanne James.
8)Scarborough Southwest Conservative candidate listed as Gavan Parachothy on the Conservative’s site.
9)Scarborough-Agincourt Conservative candidate Harry Tsai.
10)Etobicoke-North Conservative candidate Priti Lamba.
11)Etobicoke-Centre Conservative candidate Ted Opitz.
12)Etobicoke-Lakeshore Conservative candidate Bernard Trottier.
13)Parkdale-High Park Conservative candidate Taylor Train.
14)Toronto-Danforth Conservative candidate Katarina Von Koenig.
15)Beaches-East York Conservative candidate Bill Burrows.
16)Toronto Centre Conservative candidate Kevin Moore.
17)Don Valley West Conservative candidate John Carmichael.
18)Don Valley East Conservative candidate Joe Daniel.
19)Davenport Conservative candidate Theresa Rodrigues.
20)Eglinton Lawrence Conservative candidate Joe Oliver.
21)Willowdale Conservative candidate Chungsen Leung.
22)Trinity-Spadina Conservative candidate Gin Siow.
The Conservative Party has a list of candidates running in all 308 ridings across Canada.
Kris Scheuer 
Easy there, Chris B. Don’t paint all social-conservatives with the same brush.
As a long-time Conservative, I would say my generation do not believe in traditional marriage. Who are we to tell others what kind of a relationship they can have. Same with abortion. Not my call. A person can make their own choice. They don’t need me stepping in.
I do agree on the lower taxes (corporate taxes included), smaller government, cut wasteful spending, 2-tiered health-care and very tough crime laws and a presence in the world – both for the military and the environment, however you lose me again at pro-gun rights unless you are referring to those who wish to shoot recreationally who the long-gun registry was for. The legit gun owners
OK, so you are fiscally conservative BUT on social issues you are a liberal, I guess that’s called Progressive Conservative, where Progressive = Liberal, for instance Hillary Clinton on 2008 CNN Democratic Nomination debate she was asked if she considers herself a liberals and she rejected the word liberal replacing it with progressive, fundamental differences btwn a Conservative and a Progressive Conservative, for a Conservative social (moral) issues are extremely important, a TRUE Conservative is the one who fully embraces ALL Conservatives believes, no exception allowed unless you have no problem with liberalism, but in this case don’t use the word Conservative when coming down to social issues…
(The rest of this comment was deleted.)
Hi Chris B and Urban Daddy,
I have edited or deleted some of Chris B’s comments. I feel the issue of who is a true Conservative and some of the controversial issues being brought up by Chris are starting to hijack my site (which is why I edited or deleted some of Chris’s comments.)
This blog is my online portfolio of some of my published work and mainly focuses on Toronto politics.
This blog is not a newspaper website or online chat/forum on politics.
This site represents my professional reputation and published writing, so I am pleased to have people weigh on things I write about and issues addressed on this site.
Perhaps you may want to continue your discussion about true Conservative values via each other’s email or on a political forum that is set up for such a discussion that is not attached to one person’s rep (mine).
Cheers, Kris.
Other than a small smattering of Conservative signs I noticed as I was driving along Broadview, the Conservatives seem to be nonexistent in Toronto Danforth. I cannot even find a website for the Conservative candidate. The best I could find was this generic page on the Conservative website.
http://www.conservative.ca/team/meet_our_candidates/?linkTo=true&districtId=1633
The odds that I would vote Conservative are some between “when hell freezes over” and “when Harper respects the principles of parliamentary democracy”. Still I find it dismaying that they would not run a viable campaign in our riding. In reality the Liberals and Greens both know they have virtually no chance of winning but are still out there making their voices heard.
If Conservatives want to ever win seats in Toronto, they have to start acting as if they care.
Niall,
You are right. I haven’t been able to find much of an online presence either for Toronto-Danforth Conservative candidate Katarina von Koenig other than the generic Conservative party website you mention.
Do you think NDP leader Jack Layton has his seat here locked?
I think he has it locked.
He did a brave thing in 2004 in running against Dennis Mills. He took a gamble to go against a reasonably popular MP (rather than run in a safe NDP riding) and thereby get his party one more seat than it would otherwise have had. (John Tory tried the same and it ended less well for him.)
Having won that one, he now has all the advantages of being the incumbent as well as the very positive national press he is now getting.
It would seem like a long shot for him to lose now, his total absence from our riding notwithstanding.
Niall,
So you think the NDP leader Jack Layton has his riding locked? It certainly seems a safe bet. And I have heard the Conservative candidate Katarina von Koenig hasn’t necessarily going to all-candidate debates in Toronto-Danforth, do you know if that’s true.
I think to some degree all parties focus most of their efforts, volunteer teams, time and star candidates on the most winnable ridings and Toronto-Danforth has been NDP or Liberal territory. That said, a candidate running should of course try their best to get as many votes as possible even if they aren’t going to place first.
But that said there will be a live debate with Toronto-Danforth candidates next Ties April 26 at 9pm on the Rogers (cable 10) TV show Goldhalk Live, according to Green Party candidate Adriana Mugnatto-Hamu. Goldhalk’s online TV schedule doesn’t confirm this yet.
As well, there’s another in person all-candidates debate next Thurs April 28 from 7-9 pm at the United Church on the north-west corner of Pape and O’Connor. These can be one way to hear from the participating candidates to compare and contrast them.
Let me know any more observations about this race. Thanks, Kris
“If Conservatives want to ever win seats in Toronto, they have to start acting as if they care.”
To care about WHAT?
I’m a PROUD Social-Conservative, naturallized Canadian, in TO for 17 years, and I vote all the time, hear it from me, there is NO (ZERO, NADA) common ground btwn a Conservative and a Socialist (Liberal, NDP, Green, same thing), we Conservatives believe in:
– traditional marriage
– pro-life
– lower taxes, corporate taxes included
– smaller government
– cut spending
– fewer social programs
– private AND state-run health care
– pro-gun rights
– pro-military/war on terror
– very tough crime laws
– global warming, if that stuff really exists (personally I don’t), it’s NOT human’s fault
So, any of the above a Liberal/NDP/Green believes in???
Why would they run candidates when there is no basis for conservatives values and principles in TO? TO is a very left wing city, equal to NYC and SF, IMHO less than 10% of its residents are TRUE Conservatives, that’s different than Progressive (= Liberal) Conservatives, in my case I don’t care no Conservative gets elected in TO (none in the past 15+ years), all I care Conservatives win the most seats nationally and form the government, hopefully MAJORITY this time.
Respectfully,
Chris in Scarborough Center, voting for Roxanne James, not that she’s got a chance in winning the seat off John Cannis.
Hi Chris B,
thanks for your list of what “true Conservatives” believe in. Kris
Chris B,
I am sensitive to towriter’s stated desire not to get too out of scope of the intent of her blog. So I will keep this very short and general and hopefully Toronto-relevant.
There is plenty we can all agree on: the need for safe streets, a robust economy, good medical care, strong schools, etc. etc. What you list as “beliefs” are largely policies to get there, which reasonable people can disagree on and also reach compromises on. I think you are underestimating our capacity for citizenship to say that there is NADA we have in common. We need to have that dialogue and my point is that I think it is a shame that the Conservatives are effectively not participating in it in this riding. It is not respectful and I find it disappointing.
Trinity-Spadina is running Gin Siow not “Slow”, I don’t know where you got that from. And this is his website:
ginsiow.ca
Brittany. Thanks for the important correction. I guess my eyesight must be going as it looks like Slow not Siow at http://www.ginsiow.ca/
Thanks again. I have corrected the spelling. Kris
Kris, you did an awesome job! I was able to get in contact with a candidate, whose website was “404 not found”! BRAVA! And grazie,
Letizia
Letizia, thanks. I too had problems initially as some candidates website were originally but later they were taken down and that error message appeared. So I looked for alternative info online.
Cheers, Kris.
I was surprised to learn that the Conservatives had nominated a candidate in my riding (Davenport) as I have yet to see a single Conservative election sign anywhere in my neighbourhood or surrounding areas.
Joe Q,
the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Greens plan to nominate candidates in all 308 ridings across Canada including in your riding of Davenport even when they don’t always have a chance of winning a particular seat. Is the race in Davenport between the Liberal incumbent Mario Silva and NDP candidate Andrew Cash? What do you think?
I have seen Conservative signs for Theresa Rodrigues in the neighbourhood. She seems to be the perennial choice for the Tory nod out here, however she seems only to get limited ethnic support from her Portuguese compatriots.
Wondering is PC want to give up the seat at Toronto-Danforth?
Cause I still didn’t see even 1 sign in our community.
Even in provincel election they don’t have much signs in our neigthood.
Janet, do you mean does the PC party want a seat in Toronto-Danforth? As it stands now, this riding is not PC territory either federally of provincially.
Federally the Toronto-Danforth rep is NDP leader Jack Layton and provincially the rep is NDPer Peter Tabuns. Even city wide, while there are no official parties, the two elected councillors for Toronto-Danforth are lefties Janet Davis and Paula Fletcher.
As far as I know, there is a Conservative Candidate running for the seat for Toronto-Danforth. The riding is an NDP stronghold. Personally I see the Chardonnay Socialists of the riding returning Jack Layton to his seat in Ottawa to continue blathering on about being some kind of “Effective Opposition”.
Hi Anthon,
I am writing a story on Jack Layton for the Town Crier’s website and print editions in East York, Riverdale and the Beaches. I will be calling him today. Anything you want to know related to his leadership and representation in Toronto-Danforth as the local MP.
Trying to locate my candidate so I can offer to help out.
Looks like 4) is not Christina Perrault, but rather Maureen Harquail… and this might even be my riding!
http://www.stpaulsconservative.com/2011/03/29/join-the-team-to-elect-maureen-harquail-as-st-paul%e2%80%99s-mp/
Urban Daddy,
cheers. You are right the nominated St. Paul’s candidate is Maureen Harquail. Try contacting her via her website. The contact info on the website is info@maureenharquail.org
campaign office ph:416-321-0075 and it is located at 1421 Yonge St.
When I was originally posting Conservative candidates starting last week, the party’s website had no list. So I last week I called two media people with the party and they said a list would be posted shortly (it’s up now at http://www.conservative.ca/team/meet_our_candidates). So before they confirmed candidates, I did a search and the Conservatives had nominated Christina Perrault in 2009 for the next federal election (which is this May 2). But the updated info is Maureen Harquail is the candidate. I will triple check the other candidates info. Cheers, Kris.