MARKHAMSTOUFFVILLE

Liberal incumbent Helena Jaczek has held onto the riding of Markham-Stouffville.

Jaczek fought off a challenge from, among others, Conservative candidate Ben Smith, though the Green party’s Uzair Baig was in second place at press time. Muhammad Ahsin Sahi ran for the NDP and René De Vries for the People’s Party of Canada.

In 2019, Jaczek won a threeway race over Conservative candidate Theodore Anthony and incumbent Jane Philpott. That year, Philpott ran as an independent after she was expelled from the Liberal caucus following her resignation from cabinet as a matter of principle over the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Without a heavyweight former Liberal incumbent to compete against, there was a far different dynamic to the race this time around.

Before running federally, Jaczek had been an MPP and cabinet minister under then-premier Kathleen Wynne. In the 2018 provincial election, Jaczek was beaten by Progressive Conservative Paul Calandra.