Results, Ridings and Candidates

Ottawa South

2008 Results

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This Ottawa riding contains the Macdonald-Cartier Airport and has a mix of wealthy and low-income families.

It runs from Highway 417 in the north between the Rideau River and Limebank Road in the west and Leitrim Road, the abandoned CP Rail line, Lester Road, Davidson Road, Conroy Road and Hunt Club Road in the southeast.

Major employment sectors are government and the retail industry. Average family income is $89,267 and unemployment is 6.9 per cent. About 41 per cent of residents rent their homes.

According to the 2006 census, immigrants make up 30 per cent of the population. The Arabic-speaking population is eight per cent, the highest in the province. About 13 per cent of residents are francophone.

Ottawa South was created in the 1986 redistribution from portions of Ottawa-Carleton, Ottawa Centre and Ottawa-Vanier. In 1994, a small part of Carleton-Gloucester was added. In 2004, small areas from Ottawa-Vanier and Ottawa-Orléans were added.

Population: 117,581 (2006 census; a decrease of 1.0% since 2001)

Political History

In 2006, Liberal David McGuinty, brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, won the riding by 4,130 votes over Tory opponent Allan Cutler.

In the previous election, McGuinty defeated Conservative Alan Riddell by 5,334 votes.

John Manley served as Liberal MP in this riding from 1988 to 2004, when he decided not to run again. A Chrétien loyalist, Manley held numerous portfolios from the time he was first elected in 1988. He was named minister of industry in 1993, became minister of foreign affairs in 2002 and later deputy prime minister and minister of finance.

The former riding of Russell and later Ottawa-Carleton elected only Liberals from 1887 to 1974. Former prime minister John Turner was MP from 1968 until he resigned in 1976. Conservative Jean Pigott won in a 1976 byelection, but was defeated in the 1979 election by Liberal Jean-Luc Pépin. Pépin was minister of transport, minister of state for external relations and minister responsible for the Francophonie.

In 1984, PC Barry Turner defeated Liberal Albert Roy, marking only the second time in 100 years the riding had elected a Tory.