Photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) · CC BY-SA 3.0Whitby has one council seat for every 18,050 residents, more than 95% of municipalities in Ontario
The riding of the same name is the riding Whitby votes in for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and its MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament, at Queen’s Park in Toronto) isn’t named here because no open list records the members. Federally, Whitby is also the name of its riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP), represented by Ryan Turnbull of the Liberal Party of Canada. In October 2022, Whitby elected Elizabeth Roy as mayor, with a council of 9. Ontario’s councils were renewed on 26 October 2026, but the only open list so far is 2022’s, so that is the term shown.
What stands out in how Whitby is governed
Many residents per seat
Whitby council spreads its seats over a big population; the typical municipality in Ontario has one seat per 1,540 residents. Council size ↓
Turnout below the norm
Whitby council drew fewer of its electors to the polls in 2022 than the typical Ontario municipality (35%). How Whitby voted ↓
Split between ridings
Federal boundaries divide Whitby, with 83% of residents in the riding of the same name and 17% outside it, mainly in Pickering—Brooklin. Member of Parliament ↓
Low spending per resident
In 2024, 95% of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities spent more per resident than Whitby council. Council money ↓
Compared with the province’s municipalities of 1,000+ residents (2021 Census; MAMH, MMAH and Statistics Canada).
Three governments, and who does what
Whitby, a town in Ontario, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Spends most on social services and child care, then water, sewers and waste (2024 return).
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
ola.org ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Whitby is a lower-tier municipality: Durham Region, the upper tier, has its own council and services over it.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Whitby, from the most recent elections.
- 1Whitby councilelected October 2022Elizabeth Roy
- 2Legislative Assembly of OntarioWhitby
- 3House of CommonsWhitby · 83%
- 4House of CommonsPickering—Brooklin · 17%
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada
Who was elected to Whitby council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Elizabeth Roy
- Steve Lee
- Matt Cardwell
- Niki Lundquist
- Victoria Bozinovski
- Chris Leahy
- Rhonda Mulcahy
- Steve Yamada
- Maleeha Shahid
9 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Roy | Mayor | 12,654 | 54% | Yes |
| Steve Lee | Councillor | – | acclaimed | Yes |
| Matt Cardwell | Councillor | 2,995 | 43% | No |
| Niki Lundquist | Councillor | 2,492 | 55% | No |
| Victoria Bozinovski | Councillor | 2,431 | 40% | No |
| Chris Leahy | Local and Regional Councillor | 12,541 | 17% | Yes |
| Rhonda Mulcahy | Local and Regional Councillor | 12,947 | 18% | Yes |
| Steve Yamada | Local and Regional Councillor | 12,287 | 17% | Yes |
| Maleeha Shahid | Local and Regional Councillor | 11,441 | 16% | Yes |
The contest for mayor went to Elizabeth Roy, with 54% of the votes. Councillors on Whitby council are elected by ward, the mayor by the whole municipality. For one seat a single candidate came forward and was acclaimed.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Whitby voted less than most of Ontario in 2022
Turnout in the October 2022 municipal elections, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is Ontario’s median.
Whitby council was elected on 24 October 2022 with 23% of electors voting, below the provincial middle.
How Whitby voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Whitby votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Whitby council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
Elections Canada’s open records end with the 2021 election; its 2025 results are under terms that rule out commercial use. Councils are elected on the fourth Monday in October every four years, says the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, so Whitby votes next on 28 October 2030. Voters last chose the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 27 February 2025 and the House of Commons on 28 April 2025.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
Whitby votes in the riding of the same name for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MPP.
MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗By law (the Representation Act, 2015), southern Ontario’s provincial ridings follow the 2013 federal boundaries, so each place is located from those. For the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Whitby votes in the riding of the same name, which has one MPP.
Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada
Whitby has 2 MPs
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Whitby · Liberal Party of Canada · first elected 2019 · 83%
en.wikipedia.org ↗Pickering—Brooklin · Liberal Party of Canada · 17%
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
With Ryan Turnbull, the Liberal Party of Canada counts 71 of the 122 MPs elected in Ontario.
The MP’s record
Ryan Turnbull was first elected in 2019; the current Parliament is Ryan Turnbull’s 3rd. Mapped onto today’s Whitby, the 2021 vote gives the Liberal Party of Canada 45%; in 2025 Ryan Turnbull kept the seat in the same hands.
MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026
In 2021, Whitby re-elected Ryan Turnbull of the Liberal Party of Canada
Counts for Whitby within its 2013 boundaries, used in 2019 and 2021; the 2025 election ran on a new map.
In 2021, 62% of electors cast a ballot in Whitby, under the national 63%. Back in 2019, Ryan Turnbull took the riding on 44%. In 2021, Whitby went to Ryan Turnbull (Liberal Party of Canada) on 44%; Maleeha Shahid (Conservative Party of Canada) finished 5,104 votes behind.
All 5 candidates in Whitby, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Turnbull | Liberal Party of Canada | 27,375 | 44.1% |
| Maleeha Shahid | Conservative Party of Canada | 22,271 | 35.9% |
| Brian Dias | New Democratic Party | 8,766 | 14.1% |
| Thomas Androvic | People's Party of Canada | 2,682 | 4.3% |
| Johannes Kotilainen | Green Party of Canada | 972 | 1.6% |
Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Whitby council spends less per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
At 54%, property taxes count for more of the revenue than the 42% seen across the province. At $93 per resident, Whitby council’s $14.7M of long-term debt is less than the $440 median. In 2024 the median among Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities was $1,901 a resident; Whitby council spent $1,131. Durham Region, the upper tier, spent another $2,359 per resident of its whole area, most of it on social services and child care. It employs the equivalent of 643 full-time positions, or 4.1 for each thousand people. More goes to roads and transit than to anything else: $296 a resident, 26% of all spending.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roads and transit | $46.6M | $296 | 26% |
| Recreation and culture | $45.3M | $288 | 25% |
| General government | $42M | $267 | 24% |
| Police, fire and protection | $31.2M | $198 | 18% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $6.6M | $42 | 4% |
| Planning and development | $4.8M | $31 | 3% |
| Social services and child care | $1M | $6 | 1% |
| Public health and paramedics | $478K | $3 | 0% |
Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Whitby council beside its neighbours
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
The bars put the headline’s figure for Whitby council next to nearby councils, the tick marking the provincial median.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Whitby is run
Check or update the federal list.
elections.ca ↗Every MP lists an office.
ourcommons.ca ↗Ridings, registration and voting dates.
elections.on.ca ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Not on this page. No party tally for the council, which the open lists don’t record, and no band councils.
- Who holds each seat. Each MP’s name and party are Wikidata’s statements for the 45th Parliament, read in November 2026.
- Which riding. Each place is put in its ridings by where its 2021 Census residents live; a riding holding 5% or more of them is listed.
- Election results. Official counts for 2019 and 2021 are by the 2013 ridings; Elections Canada also re-counted the 2021 ballots onto the 2023 ridings by polling division, and that estimate is what “today’s boundaries” means here.
- Council size. For residents per seat, the head of council is counted as a seat, and the population is the 2021 Census figure.
- Council money. Figures are the 2024 Financial Information Return’s totals after adjustments, per resident on the return’s population. Lower tiers stand beside lower tiers only: their county or region spends on top.
Questions about how Whitby is run
Who is the MP for Whitby?
Mostly Ryan Turnbull (Liberal Party of Canada), MP for the riding of the same name; part of Whitby is in Pickering—Brooklin, held by Juanita Nathan.
Which party won Whitby in the 2021 federal election?
Ryan Turnbull (Liberal Party of Canada) took Whitby in 2021 and is its MP today.
Who is the MPP for Whitby?
The riding of the same name is the riding; its sitting MPP is on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s own list of members for Whitby and its neighbours.
Who heads the council in Whitby?
Elizabeth Roy was elected mayor in October 2022, for the 2022–26 term of Whitby council.
How much does Whitby council spend?
Whitby council spent $178M in 2024 for about 157,450 residents; its largest service line was roads and transit, at $46.6M.
Which regional body is Whitby part of?
Whitby is part of Durham Region, the upper tier, whose regional council runs services such as water and policing.
How is Whitby council elected?
Whitby council: the mayor is chosen by the whole municipality, the councillors ward by ward.
What was the turnout in Whitby?
23.3% of electors voted when Whitby council was elected in October 2022; the Ontario median was 35.5%.
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada · Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario) · Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Next municipal election: the province’s municipal election act · Municipality types: Statistics Canada census subdivisions · Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).