The GTA's top federal election storylines
Election day is here and the Greater Toronto Area is once again poised to be the region that has a huge say in who becomes Canada's next prime minister.
CBC News will have live results as soon as they start rolling in.
Here are the key storylines we're watching in the CBC Toronto newsroom — and check back on this story because we'll be updating it once we know more.
Can the Conservatives win more GTA seats?
There are 31 seats up for grabs in the GTA, and right now the Conservatives have just four of them.
If the Conservatives can't increase that total, it's hard to see a path to victory — let alone a majority government.
Here are two ridings where Pierre Poilievre's party will be hoping to break through:
Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill: The riding that gave the Liberals their slimmest margin of victory in the entire 905 in the last election campaign, at just 3.1 per cent.
Newmarket-Aurora: The Liberal MP who held the seat is not running again.
WATCH: Breaking down why these ridings matter so much to the Conservatives:
The 905 ridings the Conservatives need to win in the election
11 days ago
Duration 2:11
Will the Liberals retake Toronto-St. Paul's?
It was a political earthquake last summer when the Conservatives won a byelection in Toronto-St. Paul's, long heralded as a Liberal stronghold smack in the centre of the city.
Can the Liberals win it back now that Mark Carney is leading the party instead of Justin Trudeau?
WATCH | The CBC's Chris Glover heads to Toronto's Davenport (which the Liberals won by just 165 votes in 2021) to break down the closest races in the last federal election:
What's swaying voters in Ontario's tightest races?
14 days ago
Duration 5:41
In the latest installment of our federal election series "Your Voice, Your Vote," CBC's Chris Glover breaks down ridings with historically right races — and speaks to residents about how those slim margins are affecting their votes.
Candidate watch
Federal elections are often all about picking a party and prime minister, but when you enter the polling booth you'll really be voting for your local MP. There are some candidates we'll be watching on election night, here are a few:
Bhutila Karpoche (NDP): The popular NDP politician who became the first Tibetan-Canadian elected at Queen's Park is making her first federal run. Can she break through in a city that's been dominated by the Liberals?
Jamil Jivani (CON): He cruised to a byelection win in what is now Bowmanville–Oshawa North (a Tory stronghold) in 2024, but the political climate is radically different now. Jivani's college buddy is ... U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. Will that hurt his political chances?
Jennifer McKelvie (LIB): She's a Toronto city councillor but she's stepped back from that gig to run in Ajax, where she says she has "deep personal and professional ties." Will that be enough to hold the seat?
Will Burlington pick the winner again?
Via Mike Crawley, our newsroom's electoral historian: Burlington has elected a member of the winning party in every general election since 1984.
Some 31,868 have already cast their ballot during advance polls in the riding, according to Elections Canada data.
It's looking like voter turnout will improve
Remember how the GTA is super politically important? It's also got apathy issues.
Why some GTA ridings have among the worst voter turnout — and what could change that
26 days ago
Duration 8:55
The region was home to nine of the 10 Ontario ridings with the worst voter turnout in the 2021 federal election — the lowest being in King-Vaughan, where fewer than half of eligible voters cast a ballot.
A record 7.3 million Canadians voted early, but we'll still be watching this to see how it goes.
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27 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
"India is not a football which you kick around, it is an ally which you strive to embrace": Ex-Pentagon official Michael Rubin on India-Canada ties
Washington, DC [US], June 10 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is showing a more serious and constructive approach than his predecessor Justin Trudeau regarding the future of the India-Canada relationship. 'India is not a football which you kick around. It is an ally to be embraced', Rubin remarked, underscoring the need for Canada to demonstrate sincerity and maturity in rebuilding ties with India. 'Mark Carney is working on repairing the relationship rather than following Justin Trudeau down the rabbit hole already shows that Prime Minister Carney is a much more serious person than the former Prime Minister of now needs to demonstrate its good faith. India is not a football which you kick around. India is an ally which you strive to embrace,' Rubin said. Commenting further on bilateral ties, Rubin criticised the previous Canadian leadership's posture towards India. 'Canada's relationship with India, especially under Justin Trudeau, was not principled. It was all virtue signalling and politics. The fact of the matter is that India is crucial to Canada, and Canada needs to decide whether ultimately it's going to side with the democracies like India and the United States, or whether it's going to posture the way Justin Trudeau did and allow China, which also has significant interests in Canada,' he added. Continuing his sharp critique, Rubin has strongly criticised former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for amplifying what he called exaggerated claims around Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic diplomacy and called for firm action against Khalistani extremism. 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real': Rubin said, accusing Trudeau of appeasing radical Sikh extremists in Canada and shifting blame to India rather than acknowledging domestic issues. Touching upon the issue of Khalistani extremism, Rubin stressed the importance of decisive measures from Canada. He said, 'It is so essential that India continued to press Canada to address the Khalistan movement head-on to designate the Khalistan movement and extremists as terrorists, to uproot terror finance and to stigmatize forever these groups that really have no popular legitimacy back home in Punjab or for that matter, among the larger peaceful Sikh community in Canada. It's time to stop allowing the loud, extreme voices to win and instead recognise that those same loud, extreme voices oftentimes deserve to be in prison for their involvement in terror, tax fraud and organised crime in Canada, in San Francisco and elsewhere.' Reiterating his criticism of Trudeau, Rubin again dismissed the narrative around Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He said, 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real. They were exaggerations that Justin Trudeau Trudeau may have wanted so much to appease radical Sikh extremists in various constituencies that he was willing to take an organised crime hit between various Sikh groups and mafias and blame an outside power for it, rather than acknowledge the problem and the fault was Canada's alone. That is Justin Trudeau's problem. But now that Justin Trudeau is gone and likely will never return to power, Prime Minister Carney is taking a sober approach and recognising that he is not going to be tied to Justin Trudeau's fictions...' In this context, Rubin has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. He believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with that of Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally was a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'When you give haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
Canada Standard
27 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
"The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real": Former Pentagon official slams Trudeau for amplifying exaggerated claims
Washington, DC [US], June 11 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, has strongly criticised former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for amplifying what he called exaggerated claims around Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategic diplomacy and called for firm action against Khalistani extremism. 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real': Rubin said, accusing Trudeau of appeasing radical Sikh extremists in Canada and shifting blame to India rather than acknowledging domestic issues. Rubin further elaborated on Prime Minister Modi's leadership, saying, 'Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's critics will acknowledge that he has grown tremendously in office and he's now one of the most influential statesmen not only in Asia but in the world. The fact of the matter is that this magnanimity is strategic and it also forces the Canadians to recognise that the problem all along was in Canada and not with India. So, kudos to Prime Minister Modi for this strategy and for rejoining and agreeing to go to Alberta and the fact of the matter is that a strong relationship between India and all of North America is within everybody's interests, especially given the rise of China.' Touching upon the issue of Khalistani extremism, Rubin stressed the importance of decisive measures from Canada. He said, 'It is so essential that India continued to press Canada to address the Khalistan movement head-on to designate the Khalistan movement and extremists as terrorists, to uproot terror finance and to stigmatize forever these groups that really have no popular legitimacy back home in Punjab or for that matter, among the larger peaceful Sikh community in Canada. It's time to stop allowing the loud, extreme voices to win and instead recognise that those same loud, extreme voices oftentimes deserve to be in prison for their involvement in terror, tax fraud and organised crime in Canada, in San Francisco and elsewhere.' Reiterating his criticism of Trudeau, Rubin again dismissed the narrative around Nijjar and the Khalistan movement. He said, 'The grievances about Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the Khalistan movement were not real. They were exaggerations that Justin Trudeau Trudeau may have wanted so much to appease radical Sikh extremists in various constituencies that he was willing to take an organised crime hit between various Sikh groups and mafias and blame an outside power for it, rather than acknowledge the problem and the fault was Canada's alone. That is Justin Trudeau's problem. But now that Justin Trudeau is gone and likely will never return to power, Prime Minister Carney is taking a sober approach and recognising that he is not going to be tied to Justin Trudeau's fictions...' In this context, Rubin has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. He believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with that of Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally is a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It actually makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was basically shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'when you give safe haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your own interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
Canada Standard
27 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
American security expert torches Khalistanis, hails PM Modi's magnanimity on accepting Canada's G7 invite
Washington, DC [US], June 11 (ANI): Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, has come out swinging against Khalistanis while praising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to accept Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's invitation to the G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada. Rubin believes PM Modi's magnanimity in attending the summit shows 'India has nothing to hide.' Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Rubin contrasted Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approach with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's, saying Carney 'understands the importance of India' and wants to 'restore maturity to the relationship.' 'Canadian PM Mark Carney originally is a banker. He understands the importance of India. Justin Trudeau was a politician who peddled in image and imagination, and therefore it makes sense that Carney wants to restore maturity to the relationship,' Rubin told ANI. 'It actually makes sense for Prime Minister Modi to show that the problem was not Canada itself, but the immaturity and unprofessionalism of Justin Trudeau,' he added. Further, the American security expert highlighted that the Indian government is 'willing to have a serious dialogue, much like they had with the United States.' Rubin added that the problem with 'Justin Trudeau is that for his own domestic, political reasons and to assuage radical constituencies, he was basically shooting from the hip without any factual basis to support his accusations against India.' 'What Prime Minister Modi is showing is that India has nothing to hide. If you're going to have a serious law enforcement dialogue, it's got to be two-way. We've got to talk about illegal immigration into Canada, terror finance in Canada, radical Sikh mafias and how the Khalistan movement is tied to organised crime and terrorism,' he added. Rubin also raised concerns about the Khalistanis' movements, stating, 'when you give safe haven to any terror group. Ultimately, your own interests are going to be subverted.' 'Justin Trudeau and frankly Pierre Trudeau before him, by embracing and tolerating the Khalistan movement in the face of some of the worst terrorist attacks in the 20th century, what they did is ultimately undermine Canada's moral authority and its strategic importance,' he added. (ANI)
