Downsview was a provincial electoral district

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was created for the 1963 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1963

The Ontario general election of 1963 was held on September 25, 1963, to elect the 108 members of the 27th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. Downsview was located in North York

North York, Ontario

North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...

, which was previously part of Metropolitan Toronto

Metropolitan Toronto

The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...

 and is now part of the City of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

.

For most of its history, Downsview was a hotly-contested marginal seat between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party. Its final representative, however, was a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

: Annamarie Castrilli was elected as a Liberal in 1995, but crossed parties on the last sitting day of the legislature before the 1999 election

Ontario general election, 1999

An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

.

The riding's demographics shifted throughout its existence. From the 1970s onward, it was predominantly Italian. Odoardo Di Santo

Odoardo Di Santo

Odoardo Di Santo is a politician and administrator in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, as a member of the New Democratic Party ....

, elected as a New Democrat in 1975, was one of the first three Italian-Canadians to serve in the Ontario legislature.

Provincial representatives

	Name	Party	Took Office	Left Office	Vern Singer	Liberal Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...	1963	1975	Odoardo Di Santo Odoardo Di Santo Odoardo Di Santo is a politician and administrator in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, as a member of the New Democratic Party ....	New Democratic Party New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...	1975	1985	Joseph Cordiano Joseph Cordiano Joseph Cordiano is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty.-Early life:...	Liberal Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...	1985	1987	Laureano Leone Laureano Leone Laureano Leone is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990....	Liberal Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...	1987	1990	Anthony Perruzza Anthony Perruzza Anthony Perruzza is a politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was a city councillor in North York from 1988 to 1990, and served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 as a member of the New Democratic Party...	New Democratic Party New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...	1990	1995	Annamarie Castrilli	Liberal Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...	1995	1999	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...	1999	1999