Willowdale

Willowdale is a federal riding in the northern portion of the old City of North York, now part of the City of Toronto. Centred along the Yonge Street corridor between Sheppard Avenue and Steeles Avenue, the riding developed from three postal villages—Newtonbrook, Willowdale, and Lansing—that were absorbed into the suburban growth of post-war North York. It is one of the most densely populated constituencies in the Toronto area and among the most ethnically diverse ridings in Canada, with over half its population born outside the country. Landmarks include Mel Lastman Square, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and the commercial clusters along the Yonge Street corridor that define its urban character.

Candidates

Ali Ehsassi (Liberal) — Born in 1970 in Geneva, Switzerland, to an Iranian diplomat father and a Canadian mother, Ehsassi moved to North York at age 15 after his family left Iran during the revolution. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics, Osgoode Hall Law School, and Georgetown University. A community advocate and lawyer, he was one of the first two Canadians of Iranian heritage elected to federal Parliament when he won the riding in 2015. He was seeking his third term.

Daniel Lee (Conservative) — Lee graduated from the University of Toronto School of Pharmacy in 1991 and owned several successful pharmacies in Willowdale from 1994 to 2018. He volunteered extensively in the Korean-Canadian community, serving as president of the Korean Canadian Cultural Association of Greater Toronto from 2015 to 2018, chair of the Overseas Korean Trade Association, and a board member of the Canadian Multicultural Council.

Hal Berman (NDP) — Dr. Berman is a specialist in internal and palliative medicine who provides at-home care for patients nearing the end of life. He has advocated for a national palliative care strategy and teaches medicine at the University of Toronto.

Al Wahab (PPC) — Wahab ran as the People's Party of Canada candidate in Willowdale, bringing a community-focused perspective to the race.

About the Riding

Willowdale's identity is inseparable from its extraordinary diversity. The 2021 census recorded that just 28.7 percent of residents identify as white, with Chinese residents comprising 25.3 percent, West Asian 11.0 percent, Korean 9.9 percent, South Asian 7.6 percent, and Filipino 6.5 percent. The riding has the largest Korean community of any federal constituency in Canada, with Korean businesses, restaurants, and cultural institutions concentrated along the Yonge Street corridor north of Sheppard Avenue—an area sometimes called uptown Koreatown. It is also one of only four Toronto ridings where Chinese is the most commonly reported ethnic origin, and it holds the highest concentration of residents of Iranian descent of any riding in the city.

The commercial and residential landscape is overwhelmingly high-density. Condominium towers and mid-rise apartment buildings dominate the Yonge Street corridor, particularly around the North York Centre area near Mel Lastman Square. This density was accelerated by the construction of the Yonge subway extension through North York in the 1970s, which spurred intensive residential and commercial development. Transit access remains a central concern, as the riding's population continues to grow along the subway line.

Willowdale has been a Liberal stronghold in recent election cycles, though the riding has historically swung between parties. Immigration, settlement services, and the cost of housing in a high-density urban environment are perennial concerns. Many residents are first-generation immigrants navigating the Canadian labour market, and credential recognition for internationally trained professionals is a recurring issue. Ehsassi's own background as an immigrant and lawyer has given him a particular connection to these constituency concerns.