Niagara Centre

	BURCH, JEFF
	CRAWFORD, JOE
	DIAS, JOE
	JEFFS, APRIL
	MERCIER, BENOIT
	PIETRUSZKO, PATRICK
	SMAGATA-BRYAN, DARIO
	SOOS, STEVEN

Incumbent(s):

	Welland    Cindy Forster    (100.00% of voters in new riding)    2014/2008 Predictions

Reference:

Population (2011):			105860
2014 Election Result: Transposition courtesy of Kyle Hutton
		8674	20.42%
		11313	26.64%
		20334	47.88%
		1713	4.03%
	OTHERS	435	1.02%
	Total Transposed	42468
	Component Riding(s) & Votes Transposed
	Welland
		8674
		11313
		20334
		1713
	Others	435
	Total Transposed	42468
Federal Election Result (2015):
		Vance Badawey
		19513	35.70%
		Malcolm Allen **
		17218	31.50%
		Leanna Villella
		16248	29.70%
		David Clow
		1316	2.40%
		Jody Di Bartolomeo
		291	0.50%
		Ron J. Walker
		96	0.20%

	31/05/2018	CM 65.95.251.96
The PCs see an opportunity in neighbouring ridings St Catharines and Niagara Falls, and will likely be shifting their resources there instead of focusing on this 40+ year NDP seat. Cindy Forster leaves her incumbent position, and new nominee, former St. Catharines councillor Jeff Burch, is a relative unknown in the southern areas of the riding. However, the NDP resources in this area are too strong for the PCs to overcome, especially with the NDP rising in the polls to a provincial deadlock at this point. This is an NDP lock.
	31/05/2018	MF 50.101.245.26
The NDP is going to clean up in the Hamilton-Niagara region. So they'll definitely be keeping this.
	5/24/2018	Dr. Bear 184.175.13.231
While I nominally agree with the fact that this could be susceptible to a populist wave, the NDP are surging in SW Ontario, including Niagara. They have capitalized off of a OLP collapse and now the PCs are starting to bleed support to them. Unless there is a resurgence in DoFo support (not PC support but specifically support for Doug) then this will safely stay in NDP hands.
	18/05/2018	SS 24.212.154.103
The NDP are surging in the polls at Liberal expense which makes it hard for them to lose seats and will generally help them win more.. but in NDP-PC races like this one, the NDP are more vulnerable. They could very well lose this seat even if they have a overall net gain of 10 seats provincewide.
	09/05/2018	Preston Manning 70.50.218.163
Niagara Centre may not be a safe seat for the New Democrats, this riding is susceptible to anti-establishment populist rhetoric in the form of Doug Ford like how the Rust Belt fell to Trump. Also the PC candidate is a well known and friendly mayor of a local town, the NDP candidate doesn't live in the riding and is in charge of a multicultural, pro diversity organization which may not play well with white working class of Welland (95% white)
	08/05/2018	Innocent bystander 67.215.130.68
The Liberal vote in Hamilton-Niagara has collapsed: NDP hold.
	07/05/2018	104.247.230.176
Pollara poll shows the NDP at 30%..this will be a NDP hold
	23/04/2018	108.161.125.55
The NDP candidate Jeff Burch is opening his committee room...and is going all out...I suspect he is not assuming this is 'his' riding. The aggressive approach to holding this riding will stands him in good stead. Burch has campaign experience and it shows...He will win
	03/04/2018	Laurence Putnam 50.98.33.108
With a 20-point margin of victory well ahead of the NDP's province-wide results, even without the advantage of the local incumbent, I think the smart money here has to stay with the NDP. Libs don't stand a chance; the Lib collapse will shore up the NDP vote and there doesn't appear to be much Lib support anyway. As previously stated, PC's would need, literally, all the Lib votes to overtake the NDP. I do agree there will be a populist PC surge, probably best result here since the '90s. But I think the NDP should still hang on.
	03/04/2018	Stephen B 135.23.122.204
Too close to call is right. It's a huge gap from 2014 that the Tories have to close, but the Liberals did it here federally in 2015. The Tories have a relatively stong candidate; there's no guarantee that the NDP keeps this.
	31/03/2018	Anthony 76.67.55.12
The NDP have held this seat since 1975 prior to Peter Kormos winning it in 1988. The PC
	27/03/2018	Stevo 165.225.76.199
It was a strong NDP seat BECAUSE of Peter Kormos. It was just incidental that he happened to represent the NDP. This area is absolutely ripe for Ford Nation and I fully expect the PCs to target it.
	29/03/2018	KXS 174.112.172.78
People tend to forget that Andrea Horwath is a populist too. Andrea Horwath's NDP appeals more to ridings such as Niagara Centre than Toronto Centre.
	24/03/2018	Anthony 76.67.55.12
This has been one of the safest NDP seats provincially that they have held since 1990 with Peter Kormos and then Cindy Forster. I don
	20/03/2018	Tory in Dixie 66.190.176.182
A tight race between the PCs and NDP ... if you take the Charlottetown Accord referendum (as long ago as it was) as a rough guide to how politically & culturally 'establishment' versus 'populist' an area is, assuming no major demographic changes, Welland & environs is definitely going to rank on the populist side at a 59% 'No' vote back then ... for that reason Ford might play well here ... but the NDP tradition is very strong with 43 consecutive years of being orange ... tossup at this point until we have a better idea of where the NDP are province-wide
	21/03/2018	Demarcoa 192.0.154.113
Though this is an open seat, I have difficulty imagining enough of a shift in the electorate for this to be a loss for the NDP, who are about at the same level polling-wise from the last election.
	19/03/2018	jeff316 69.165.157.213
Welland will be a three-way strategic voting shemozzle. Forster may not have held this with a Ford leadership. I
	19/03/2018	A.S. 207.164.79.93
I suspect that in addition to the Trump/Brexit riding-profile reasoning that Craig delineates, a major factor behind Niagara Centre Tory-pickup speculation is the fact of Doug Ford making an early yet critically symbolic campaign appearance at a Welland Legion. Though I'd warn against going too far, too fast with the speculation, even if we're now confronting an unfamiliar situation: an open seat *not* within Peter Kormos' lifetime. (Also, it's not exactly under an Andrea Horwath-type leadership that one pictures a seat like this getting away.)
	14/03/2018	Craig 24.213.108.184
Open seat + populist PC leader = unlikely pickup in Niagara Centre. A very working class riding, Peter Kormos seemed to be made of the same cloth as Doug Ford, even if they are on opposite sides of the spectrum, and this would be a classic Obama-Trump or Labour-Leave district. Had Elliott won the leadership, I'd probably call this an NDP hold even though the seat is open. But not anymore...this is the kind of seat that Doug Ford could excel in.
	12/03/2018	MF 69.158.152.4
With the NDP incumbent leaving, will the riding of Peter Kormos vote for the Ford-led PCs? We shall see soon enough.
	19/01/2018	Dr.Bear 204.187.20.95
Cindy Forster has decided not to run again. Now it's time to see if locals voted for her or the party. I will reassess things in the weeks to come.
	19/01/2018	Donald 199.167.152.50
With Cindy Foster out of the race, the playing field is more equal and the chances of the PCs improve. But still too early to make a prediction.
	18/01/2018	R.O. 24.146.17.189
The ndp mpp Cindy Forster has announced she is retiring , that makes the race here more unpredictable although it has been an ndp stronghold for years .
	15/12/2017	M. Lunn 174.7.110.151
Most likely should stay NDP unless the Liberals completely crater and the PCs pick up all those votes. Still the Tories almost won federally in 2011 so a PC win while unlikely cannot totally be ruled out. This riding does include a small rural portion where the PCs tend to do well, but they do struggle more in the built up portions where most live.