# Jeff Burch

Jeff Burch is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the electoral district of Niagara Centre as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party.
Prior to his election to the legislature Burch was the executive director of Niagara Folk Arts, a non–profit social services agency, and served as city councillor for Merritton Ward for St. Catharines City Council.

## Background

Jeff Burch is a graduate from Brock University, with an honours BA in philosophy. Burch then spent three years as a graduate student and teaching assistant at Brock, teaching seminars in social issues and women's studies. He left his studies in 1996 after being elected president of a United Steelworkers local union.

## Politics

Burch ran as the Ontario New Democratic Party's candidate in St. Catharines in 1995, losing to Liberal Jim Bradley. He was elected as a city councillor in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 2006. He served from 2006 to 2014, including four years as budget chair. He ran for mayor of St. Catharines in 2014, losing to Walter Sendzik by fewer than 2000 votes.
In February 2018, Burch won the NDP nomination in Niagara Centre. The riding has been an NDP stronghold for 44 years with Mel Swart, Peter Kormos and Cindy Forster holding the seat. On June 7, 2018, Burch won the seat. Burch currently serves as the Official Opposition critic for Municipal Affairs as well as the chair of the Official Opposition caucus.
Three months after his election in 2018, he scored a major victory by winning unanimous support for his motion to bring two-way all-day GO Transit rail service to Niagara.

## Electoral record

vte2025 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre :
| The 2025 general election will be held on February 27. |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Jeff Burch | | | |
| | New Blue | Jimmy Jackson | | | |
| | Liberal | Damien O'Brien | | | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bill Steele | | | |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
vte2022 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Jeff Burch | 16,360 | 39.70 | −4.53 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Fred Davies | 15,506 | 37.63 | +0.12 |
| | Liberal | Terry Flynn | 5,492 | 13.33 | +1.50 |
| | Green | Michelle McArthur | 1,865 | 4.53 | +0.84 |
| | New Blue | Gary Dumelie | 1,148 | 2.79 | |
| | Ontario Party | Vincent Gircys | 837 | 2.03 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,208 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 194 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,402 | 43.37 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 94,966 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | −2.32 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18."Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. |||||||
2018 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Jeff Burch | 21,618 | 44.23 | −3.65 |
| | Progressive Conservative | April Jeffs | 18,333 | 37.51 | +10.87 |
| | Liberal | Benoit Mercier | 5,779 | 11.82 | −8.60 |
| | Green | Joe Dias | 1,803 | 3.69 | −0.34 |
| | None of the Above | Joe Crawford | 623 | 1.27 | |
| | Libertarian | Patrick Pietruszko | 368 | 0.75 | −0.27 |
| | Independent | Steve Soos | 217 | 0.44 | |
| | People's Political Party | Dario Smagata-Bryan | 133 | 0.27 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,874 | 98.63 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 680 | 1.37 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,554 | 56.13 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 88,287 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | -7.26 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||

### 2014 St. Catharines Mayoral Election

| Mayoral Candidate | Vote | % |
| Walter Sendzik | 13,147 | 40.19 |
| Jeff Burch | 11,321 | 34.61 |
| Peter Secord | 6,571 | 20.09 |
| Mark Stevens | 1,135 | 3.47 |
| Jim Fannon | 535 | 1.64 |

### 2010 St. Catharines City Council Election - Ward 1 - Merriton

| Candidate | Total votes | % of total vote |
| Jennie Stevens (X) | 2,294 | 32.96% |
| Jeff Burch (X) | 2,064 | 29.66% |
| David Haywood | 1,134 | 16.29% |
| Garry Robbins | 817 | 11.74% |
| Sam Sacco | 491 | 7.05% |
| Cameron Alderdice | 160 | 2.30% |
| Total valid votes | 6,960 | 100.00 |

### 2006 St. Catharines City Council Election - Ward 1 - Meritton

| Candidate | Total votes | % of total vote |
| Jeff Burch | 2857 | 33.01% |
| Jennie Stevens (X) | 2849 | 32.92% |
| Sheila Morra (X) | 2049 | 23.68% |
| Robbie Craine | 899 | 10.39% |
| Total valid votes | 6,960 | 100.00 |