# Parkdale—High Park (federal electoral district)

Parkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It was created during the 1976 electoral boundaries redistribution from parts of Parkdale, High Park—Humber Valley, Davenport and Spadina districts. As of the October 19, 2015, Canadian general election, the current Member of Parliament (MP) is Liberal member Arif Virani. According to the 2016 census, Parkdale—High Park has the lowest percentage of visible minorities (26.2%) among all City of Toronto ridings; it also has the highest percentage of people of Irish (20.0%), German (9.8%), and French (8.9%) ethnic origin of all City of Toronto ridings.
After the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution process, the 2023 representation orders renamed the electoral district Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park. They will come into effect upon the calling of the 2025 Canadian federal election.

## Geography

It is located in the central-west part of Toronto on the lakefront. It has 106,559 residents. It is composed of the seven neighbourhoods surrounding High Park. Including the park and portions west, between the north and south borders of the park is the neighbourhood of Swansea; north of the park are the neighbourhoods of High Park North and the south half of The Junction; north-west of the park are the neighbourhoods of Runnymede-Bloor West Village and Lambton Baby Point; to the east of the park is Roncesvalles; and Parkdale directly to the south and to the south-east.
It consists of the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by the Humber River, and on the north and east by a line drawn from the Humber River east along the Canadian Pacific Railway, southeast along the Canadian National/Canadian Pacific Railway, west along Queen Street West, south along Dufferin Street, west along Dufferin Street, and south along the southerly production of Spencer Avenue.

## History

Prior to the 2023 representation orders from the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution process, the electoral district was named Parkdale—High Park. The electoral district was created in 1976 from parts of Parkdale, High Park—Humber Valley, Davenport and Spadina electoral districts.
In 1976, it was defined to consist of the part of the City of Toronto bounded on the south by the shore of Lake Ontario, on the north and west by the city limits, on the east by a line drawn from north to south along Runnymede Road, east along Annette Street, south along Keele Street, east along Humberside Avenue, southeast along the Canadian National Railway, south along Bathurst Street; thence southerly along Bathurst Street to the Western Channel of Toronto Harbour.
In 1987, it was defined to consist of the parts of the cities of Toronto and York bounded on the west by the city limits of Toronto and York, and on the north, east and south by a line drawn east along the Canadian Pacific Railway line, south along Runnymede Road, east along Annette Street, southeast along Dundas Street West, east along Dupont Street, southwest along the Canadian National Railway line immediately east of Dundas Street West, south along Atlantic Avenue, west along the Gardiner Expressway, south along the southerly production of Spencer Avenue.
In 1996, it was defined to consist of the parts of the cities of Toronto and York bounded on the west by the city limits of Toronto and York, and on the north, east and south by a line drawn east along the Canadian Pacific Railway, southeast along the Canadian National Railway, south along Atlantic Avenue, west along the Gardiner Expressway, and south along the southerly production of Spencer Avenue.
In 2003, it was given its current boundaries as described above. This riding was unchanged after the 2012 electoral redistribution. However, the 2023 representation orders did change the name by adding "Taiaiako'n" to the beginning of the name, and the boundaries had significant changes in the north, including much of traditional area of the old City of West Toronto that was part of the old High Park electoral district pre-1976.

### Former boundaries

* 1976 to 1987
* 1987 to 1996
* 1996 to 2003
* 2003 to 2015

## Demographics

According to the 2021 Canadian census
Ethnic groups: 69.1% White, 6.0% Black, 5.1% South Asian, 3.9% Chinese, 2.7% Filipino, 2.7% Latin American, 1.9% Southeast Asian, 1.8% Indigenous
Languages: 65.8% English, 2.7% Polish, 2.4% Spanish, 1.8% French, 1.8% Portuguese, 1.6% Tibetan, 1.5% Russian, 1.4% Ukrainian, 1.1% Tagalog, 1.0% Vietnamese, 1.0% Serbian, 1.0% Cantonese
Religions: 43.1% Christian (24.1% Catholic, 4.0% Christian Orthodox, 2.8% Anglican, 2.6% United Church, 6.7% Other), 3.5% Buddhist, 2.9% Muslim, 2.0% Jewish, 1.9% Hindu, 45.3% None
Median income: $46,800 (2020)
Average income: $72,800 (2020)

## Riding associations

Riding associations are the local branches of political parties:
| Party | Association name | President | HQ address | HQ city |
| New Democratic | Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park Federal NDP Riding Association | Francis Kung | M6R 3B5 | Toronto |
| Conservative | Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park Conservative Association | Irene Stewart | M6S 4Z6 | Toronto |
| Liberal | Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park Federal Liberal Association | Derek J. Raymaker | M6S 1J5 | Toronto |
| Green | Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park Green Party Association | Gerry J. Rankin | M6N 2H3 | Toronto |

## Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Parkdale—High Park Riding created from Parkdale, High Park—Humber Valley, Davenport and Spadina |||||
| 31st | 1979–1980 | Jesse Flis | Liberal |
| 32nd | 1980–1984 | Jesse Flis | Liberal |
| 33rd | 1984–1988 | Andrew Witer | Progressive Conservative |
| 34th | 1988–1993 | Jesse Flis | Liberal |
| 35th | 1993–1997 | Jesse Flis | Liberal |
| 36th | 1997–2000 | Sarmite Bulte | Liberal |
| 37th | 2000–2004 | Sarmite Bulte | Liberal |
| 38th | 2004–2006 | Sarmite Bulte | Liberal |
| 39th | 2006–2008 | Peggy Nash | New Democratic |
| 40th | 2008–2011 | Gerard Kennedy | Liberal |
| 41st | 2011–2015 | Peggy Nash | New Democratic |
| 42nd | 2015–2019 | Arif Virani | Liberal |
| 43rd | 2019–2021 | Arif Virani | Liberal |
| 44th | 2021–present | Arif Virani | Liberal |

## Election results

2021 federal election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| Liberal | 24,400 | 42.79 |
| New Democratic | 21,893 | 38.40 |
| Conservative | 7,603 | 13.33 |
| People's | 1,825 | 3.20 |
| Green | 1,077 | 1.89 |
| Others | 220 | 0.39 |
vte2021 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Arif Virani | 22,307 | 42.45 | -4.94 | $104,400.40 |
| | New Democratic | Paul M. Taylor | 20,602 | 39.21 | +7.71 | $106,004.63 |
| | Conservative | Nestor Sanajko | 6,815 | 12.97 | -0.19 | $9,183.25 |
| | People's | Wilfried Richard Alexander Danzinger | 1,642 | 3.13 | +2.07 | $724.84 |
| | Green | Diem Marchand-Lafortune | 957 | 1.82 | -4.61 | $3,873.90 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 130 | 0.25 | +0.05 | $0.00 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 90 | 0.17 | +0.10 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 52,543 | – | – | $110,699.74 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,543 | 65.46 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 80,265 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -6.33 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Arif Virani | 28,852 | 47.4 | +5.36 | $104,265.06 |
| | New Democratic | Paul M. Taylor | 19,180 | 31.5 | -8.74 | $100,698.11 |
| | Conservative | Adam Pham | 8,015 | 13.2 | +0.15 | $44,890.73 |
| | Green | Nick Capra | 3,916 | 6.4 | +3.42 | $14,108.37 |
| | People's | Greg Wycliffe | 643 | 1.1 | - | none listed |
| | Communist | Alykhan Pabani | 119 | 0.2 | - | $626.57 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 119 | 0.2 | -0.13 | none listed |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 43 | 0.07 | -0.1 | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 60,887 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 382 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 61,269 | 74.0 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 82,797 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +7.05 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2015 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Arif Virani | 24,623 | 42.04 | +9.15 | $118,148.12 |
| | New Democratic | Peggy Nash | 23,566 | 40.24 | -6.96 | $143,864.29 |
| | Conservative | Ian Allen | 7,641 | 13.05 | -2.50 | $16,096.82 |
| | Green | Adam Phipps | 1,743 | 2.98 | -0.29 | $4,405.49 |
| | Libertarian | Mark Jeftovic | 610 | 1.04 | – | – |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 191 | 0.33 | -0.09 | – |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 100 | 0.17 | ±0 | – |
| | Independent | Carol Royer | 93 | 0.16 | – | $4,449.41 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 58,567 | 100.0 | | $211,869.52 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 269 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 58,836 | – | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 76,952 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Peggy Nash | 24,046 | 47.20 | +11.23 |
| | Liberal | Gerard Kennedy | 16,757 | 32.89 | -10.08 |
| | Conservative | Taylor Train | 7,924 | 15.55 | +3.12 |
| | Green | Sarah Newton | 1,666 | 3.27 | -4.20 |
| | Christian Heritage | Andrew Borkowski | 251 | 0.49 | +0.02 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 215 | 0.42 | -0.01 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 86 | 0.17 | -0.05 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,945 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 216 | 0.42 | 0.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,161 | 71.10 | 6.50 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 71,954 | – | – |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Gerard Kennedy | 20,705 | 42.97 | +7.04 | $66,616 |
| | New Democratic | Peggy Nash | 17,332 | 35.97 | -4.43 | $76,005 |
| | Conservative | Jilian Saweczko | 5,992 | 12.43 | -4.62 | $27,886 |
| | Green | Robert L. Rishchynski | 3,601 | 7.47 | +1.96 | $27,025 |
| | Christian Heritage | Andrew Borkowski | 230 | 0.47 | – | $402 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 209 | 0.43 | -0.17 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 110 | 0.22 | -0.02 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 48,179 | 100.00 | $82,121 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 205 | 0.42 | -0.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,384 | 64.60 | -5.73 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Peggy Nash | 20,790 | 40.40 | +5.9 |
| | Liberal | Sarmite Bulte | 18,489 | 35.93 | -6.1 |
| | Conservative | Jurij Klufas | 8,777 | 17.05 | +1.7 |
| | Green | Robert L. Rishchynski | 2,840 | 5.51 | -1.4 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 311 | 0.60 | -0.2 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 124 | 0.24 | 0.0 |
| | Independent | Beverly Bernardo | 119 | 0.23 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 51,450 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 240 | 0.46 | -0.07 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,690 | 70.33 | +6.19 |
2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Sarmite Bulte | 19,727 | 42.05 | -7.3 |
| | New Democratic | Peggy Nash | 16,201 | 34.53 | +15.5 |
| | Conservative | Jurij Klufas | 7,221 | 15.39 | -9.8 |
| | Green | Neil Spiegel | 3,249 | 6.92 | +4.1 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 384 | 0.81 | -1.1 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 130 | 0.27 | 0.0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 46,912 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 250 | 0.53 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,162 | 64.14 |
2000 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Sarmite Bulte | 20,676 | 49.4 | +1.1 |
| | New Democratic | Paul Schmidt | 7,947 | 19.0 | -1.5 |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Strycharz | 5,681 | 13.6 | -0.3 |
| | Alliance | Vicki Vancas | 4,882 | 11.7 | -2.1 |
| | Green | Neil Spiegel | 1,161 | 2.8 | +1.2 |
| | Marijuana | Terry Parker | 775 | 1.9 | |
| | Canadian Action | Greg Robertson | 317 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| | Communist | Wilfred Szczesny | 155 | 0.4 | |
| | Independent | Michel Dugré | 132 | 0.3 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Lorne Gershuny | 122 | 0.3 | -0.4 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,848 | 100.0 |
1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Sarmite Bulte | 20,692 | 48.3 | -6.1 |
| | New Democratic | Paul Schmidt | 8,762 | 20.4 | +11.1 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jilian Saweczko | 5,926 | 13.8 | +0.2 |
| | Reform | Michael Jakubcak | 5,881 | 13.7 | -2.4 |
| | Green | Laura Weinberg | 696 | 1.6 | +0.5 |
| | Canadian Action | Miriam Hawkins | 324 | 0.8 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Pierre Chénier | 311 | 0.7 | +0.6 |
| | Natural Law | Gregory Wayne Roberts | 267 | 0.6 | -0.3 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 42,859 | 100.0 |
1993 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Jesse Flis | 22,068 | 54.4 | +10.5 |
| | Reform | Lee Primeau | 6,520 | 16.1 | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Don Baker | 5,519 | 13.6 | -23.2 |
| | New Democratic | David Miller | 3,775 | 9.3 | -8.6 |
| | National | Stephen A. Biega | 1,308 | 3.2 | |
| | Green | Richard Roy | 461 | 1.1 | |
| | Natural Law | Wanda Beaver | 369 | 0.9 | |
| | Libertarian | Haig Baronikian | 314 | 0.8 | +0.2 |
| | Independent | Miguel Figueroa | 105 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| | Abolitionist | Thomas Earl Pennington | 60 | 0.1 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | André Vachon | 53 | 0.1 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,552 | 100.0 |
1988 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Jesse Flis | 19,614 | 43.9 | +7.4 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Andrew Witer | 16,418 | 36.8 | -3.5 |
| | New Democratic | Anna Pollonetsky | 8,002 | 17.9 | -2.9 |
| | Libertarian | Penny Hoar | 267 | 0.6 | |
| | Independent | Matthew Hall | 227 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
| | Communist | Anna Larsen | 130 | 0.3 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 44,658 | 100.0 |
1984 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Andrew Witer | 15,879 | 40.2 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal | Jesse Flis | 14,419 | 36.5 | -9.0 |
| | New Democratic | John Friesen | 8,232 | 20.9 | -0.6 |
| | Green | Dieter Heinrich | 592 | 1.5 | |
| | Libertarian | Wilf Olin | 223 | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| | Communist | Anna Larsen | 130 | 0.3 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 39,475 | 100.0 |
1980 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Jesse Flis | 17,213 | 45.6 | +7.9 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Andrew Witer | 12,116 | 32.1 | -5.4 |
| | New Democratic | Doug Little | 8,094 | 21.4 | -2.1 |
| | Communist | Wilfred Szczesny | 160 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| | Libertarian | Shirley Yamada | 146 | 0.4 | -0.2 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Christine Nugent | 55 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 37,784 | 100.0 |
1979 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Jesse Flis | 15,281 | 37.7 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Yuri Shymko | 15,207 | 37.5 |
| | New Democratic | Doug Little | 9,539 | 23.5 |
| | Libertarian | Vincent H. Miller | 250 | 0.6 |
| | Communist | Kerry McQuaig | 168 | 0.4 |
| | Independent | Armand Siksna | 61 | 0.2 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Christine Nugent | 52 | 0.1 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,558 | 100.0 |