Voters in Scarborough-Guildwood head to polls in provincial byelection

It's provincial byelection day in the east Toronto riding of Scarborough-Guildwood.

Voters are heading to the ballot box Thursday for the fourth time in just over a year, after voting in provincial and municipal elections in 2022 and the Toronto mayoral byelection last month. 

Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET. Voters can find their polling location by typing in their postal code here. 

Scarborough-Guildwood has been a Liberal stronghold since it was created by merging parts of three ridings in 2007. 

The riding has been vacant since May when former Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter resigned from the legislature to run unsuccessfully for mayor of Toronto after representing the riding for 10 years. Hunter was not elected mayor, and the provincial Liberal caucus at Queen's Park fell to just seven.

The byelection provides the Progressive Conservatives with an opportunity to take the seat from the Liberals and build on the governing party's majority in the legislature. The New Democrats are looking to improve on their results from past elections and the Greens are aiming to add a second MPP to its caucus.

Gary Crawford is the candidate for the Progressive Conservatives. Crawford was serving his third term as Toronto city councillor for Ward 20 Scarborough–Southwest when he entered the race. He resigned that position on Tuesday. Crawford was a close political ally of former mayor John Tory, acting as budget chief throughout Tory's tenure.

The Liberal's standard bearer is Andrea Hazell. Hazell owns a financial management firm and is president and chair of the Scarborough Business Association. She is also the chair of the Caribbean Philanthropic Council.

Thadsha Navaneethan is the NDP candidate. Navaneethan came to Toronto at age 10 with her family as refugees fleeing war in Sri Lanka. She has worked as a community organizer and has experience in the non-profit sector. According to the NDP, her most recent job is as a human rights officer for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

Tara McMahon is running under the Green Party banner. She has worked in the HVAC and plumbing industries for nearly 20 years.

A number of independent and smaller party candidates are also running.

You can also see the full list of nominated candidates here.

Elections Ontario said last week that 2,565 voters have already cast their ballot through advance voting, representing around 3.6 per cent of registered voters. That's down from 8.8 per cent in the 2022 general election.

Scarborough–Guildwood saw a 38 per cent turnout in 2022 — below the provincewide turnout of about 44 per cent.