About the Association

The roots of the Burlington Riding date to Confederation in 1867. At that time the Burlington area was basically a group of very small villages with Hamilton to the west and Oakville/Toronto to the east. The Burlington area was part of the Halton County riding and from 1867 to 1966 through thirty elections it was held by both the Liberals and Conservatives/Progressive Conservatives (PCs) in a fairly equal percentage.

In 1966 through redistribution most of the Burlington area was placed in the new riding of Halton-Wentworth, and in 1968 this riding was won barely by the Liberals. In 1972, though, a major change occurred when Bill Kempling came on the scene and won the riding for the PCs by almost 10,000 votes.  This win started a long series of victories for the PCs as he won six elections in a row from 1972-1992 by an average of 12,000 votes.

Burlington was incorporated as a city in 1974, and in 1979 through
redistribution the riding of Halton-Wentworth was abolished and the riding
of Burlington began. Bill of course retained this new seat until 1992. A
major accomplishment was made in 1984 when his margin of victory was 26,000
votes.

Following Bill's retirement in 1993, the riding reverted to Liberal hands, and
stayed that way for thirteen years.  A major factor that negatively impacted the success of the Progressive Conservative Party was vote splitting between
the Progressive Conservatives and the Reform Party and its successor, the Canadian Alliance. In 2003 the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance formed the Conservative Party of Canada.  In the 2004 federal election, the Liberals were again successful, but in 2006 the new Conservative Party won by 3,000 votes, electing Mike Wallace, a long time City of Burlington Council Member, to his first seat in Parliament. Due to Mike’s success as an MP and has good work on a number of committees including finance, he was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2008 by 10,000 votes.

Today, the Burlington Conservative Electoral District Association comprises members from three different eras: representatives from the old Progressive Conservative Party; members from the Canadian Alliance; and persons whose involvement in Party politics has been more recent. The enthusiasm of both the Board members and the riding members is extremely high, a fact that is reflected in a sizable support base, an active Electoral District Association, and a strong financial base.  Moreover, the fact that there has been continuity of membership has provided a strong framework on which to build for the future.

Burlington Electoral District