The electoral district was created in 1999 when provincial ridings were defined to have the same borders as federal ridings. It generally encompasses the western portion of DowntownToronto. In the 2001 Canadian census, the riding had 106,094 people of which 74,409 were eligible to vote.
The riding is one of the most ethnically diverse in Canada containing the heart of Toronto's Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy and Little Portugal. The northern section of the riding is the trendy Annex district, while the eastern edge contains part of the University of Toronto and thousands of students. The riding has been the most left-leaning in Toronto and has voted NDP provincially for a number of years.
Average family income: $81,415 [1] Median family income: $50,047 [2] Unemployment: 6.7% [3] Language (mother tongue): English - 51%, French - 2%, Other - 45%, Multiple (Incl. English and/or French) - 2% [3] Language (knowledge): English only - 75.3%, French only - <0.1%, English and French - 15.4%, Neither English nor French - 9.1% [3] Religion: Catholic - 32.1%, Protestant - 15%, other Christian (Incl. Orthodox) - 5.3%, Buddhist - 5.2%, Jewish - 4.2%, Muslim - 2.8%, No religious affiliation - 32.9%, Other - 2.4% [3] Visible Minority: Chinese - 18.2%, Black - 4%, South Asian - 3.5%, Southeast Asian - 1.8%, Filipino - 1.7%, Korean - 1.5%, Latin American - 1.5%, Others - 3.3% [3] Immigrant Status: Non-immigrant - 52%, Immigrant - 45%, Non-permanent resident - 3% [3]
Geography
It consists of the Toronto Islands and the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by Toronto Harbour, and on the west, north and east by a line drawn from the harbour north on Spencer Avenue, east along the Gardiner Expressway, north on Dufferin, east on Queen Street West, southeast along the Canadian Pacific Railway line, north along Dovercourt Road, east along Dundas Street West, north along Ossington Avenue, east along the Canadian Pacific Railway situated north of Dupont Street, south along Avenue Road and Queens Park Crescent West, east along College Street and south along Yonge Street to the Harbour.
These borders were changed in the 2004 redistribution. The northwestern corner, a generally pro-NDP area was lost to Davenport. A large, but mostly business area of Toronto Centre—Rosedale between University Avenue and Yonge St. was added to the riding. This region tends to support the Liberals. The Toronto Islands were also added to the riding from Toronto Centre—Rosedale. This area is very strongly NDP and while it has a small population it is a highly activist one[citation needed] that provides many campaign workers for the New Democrats.
This riding was one of five ridings where a majority of voters supported MMP.
City Councillors
Municipally, Trinity—Spadina is divided into two wards; the western half, Ward 19, is represented by Mike Layton (son of the late and former Canadian federal New Democratic leader Jack Layton), and the eastern half, Ward 20, is represented by Ceta Ramkhalawansingh. In Toronto's 2010 municipal elections, Adam Vaughan was re-elected for a second four-year term; the previous Ward 19 Councillor, Joe Pantalone, stood (unsuccessfully) for mayor. Ramkhalawansingh was appointed by Council after Vaughan ran successfully in the 2014 Ontario election.
For a listing of each MPP's Queen's Park curriculum vitae see below:
For Rosario Marchese's Legislative Assembly information see "Rosario Marchese, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-08.
For Han Dong's Legislative Assembly information see "Han Dong, MPP". Parliamentary History. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-08.