The Political RecordFederal electoral districtsNo. 35028Ontario

Essex

Essex is a federal riding in Ontario. Chris Lewis (Conservative, first elected to the House in 2019) represents Essex. Chris Lewis (Conservative) held Essex for the Conservatives in the 2025 election by 16,734 votes (20.8 points), with 57.5% of the vote. Chris Sutton (Liberal) was second with 36.7%, on a turnout of 73.0% of 110,489 electors. Member as of 2026-11-01.

Fig. 1 — Essex on the board, 2023 boundaries; the ridings next door as the House holds them on 2026-11-01. Open it on the board →

Who represents Essex

Chris Lewis's piece from the board. Illustration after the official portrait © House of Commons.

Chris Lewis

Member of Parliament for Essex

Conservative

MP since 2019-10-21 · 3 terms

57 speeches in the 45th Parliament, most often on Canada's Auto Industry.

Contact and office · House of Commons →

The 2025 result: Conservative hold

Share of the valid votes by candidate, Essex, April 28, 2025

Shares of the 80,181 valid votes; a candidate under 1% is counted with the others. Source: Elections Canada, official voting results, the 2025 general election.

The figures

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Chris Lewis	Conservative	46,123	57.5%
Chris Sutton	Liberal	29,389	36.7%
Lori Wightman	New Democratic	3,826	4.8%
Jason A. E. Henry	People's Party	843	1.1%

Chris Lewis (Conservative) won Essex on April 28, 2025 with 46,123 votes, 57.5% of the 80,181 valid votes. Chris Sutton (Liberal) was second with 29,389 (36.7%), 16,734 votes and 20.8 points behind.

Of the 80,181 valid votes, Chris Lewis (Conservative) took 57.5%, Chris Sutton (Liberal) 36.7%, Lori Wightman (New Democratic) 4.8% and Jason A. E. Henry (People's Party) 1.1%. Turnout was 73.0% of 110,489 electors: 80,671 ballots cast, 80,181 of them valid, for 4 candidates.

Since 2021

Against the 2021 result on these boundaries, the Conservatives are up 16.8 (40.7% to 57.5%), the Liberals up 21.3 (15.4% to 36.7%), the New Democrats down 26.7 (31.5% to 4.8%) and the People's Party down 9.0 (10.1% to 1.1%), in points of the valid votes.

2021 is Elections Canada's transposition of that election onto the 2023 boundaries, not an election held on these lines.

Since 2004: usually Conservative

The party first in Essex at each general election, 2004 to 2025, on today's boundaries

2004†Conservative36.6%by 1.6 points over the Liberals
2006Conservative40.4%by 6.3 points over the Liberals
2008Conservative40.0%by 10.9 points over the Liberals
2011Conservative48.1%by 12.9 points over the New Democrats
2015changed handsNew Democratic40.4%by 4.5 points over the Conservatives
2019changed handsConservative41.6%by 7.8 points over the New Democrats
2021Conservative40.7%by 9.3 points over the New Democrats
2025Conservative57.5%by 20.8 points over the Liberals

Each election carried onto today's boundaries by where the riding's 2025 electors lived: our estimate to 2019, Elections Canada's transposition for 2021, the official result for 2025. Parties are counted as they ran. † The first two are within two points, so which party was first is less certain.

The figures

Year	First	Share	Second	Margin (pts)	Basis
2004†	Conservative	36.6%	Liberal	1.6	carried, our estimate
2006	Conservative	40.4%	Liberal	6.3	carried, our estimate
2008	Conservative	40.0%	Liberal	10.9	carried, our estimate
2011	Conservative	48.1%	New Democratic	12.9	carried, our estimate
2015	New Democratic	40.4%	Conservative	4.5	carried, our estimate
2019	Conservative	41.6%	New Democratic	7.8	carried, our estimate
2021	Conservative	40.7%	New Democratic	9.3	transposed by Elections Canada
2025	Conservative	57.5%	Liberal	20.8	official result

The Conservatives were first here at seven of the eight general elections from 2004 to 2025; the NDP were first in 2015. In 2025 the Conservatives took 57.5% of the vote here, 17.0 points above their average of 40.5% at the seven general elections from 2004 to 2021.

On today's boundaries the Conservatives were first here in 2004 (36.6%), 2006 (40.4%), 2008 (40.0%), 2011 (48.1%), 2019 (41.6%), 2021 (40.7%) and 2025 (57.5%) and the NDP in 2015 (40.4%), each with the share of the valid votes shown.

A stronghold is a party first at every general election since 2004, by an average of 20 points or more over the next party; held, first at every one; usually, first at all but one. By-elections are not counted. By this rule 83 of the 343 ridings are usually one party's. The results before 2021 are carried onto today's boundaries by where the riding's 2025 electors lived: our estimate, from the older boundaries of Taylor, Lucas, Kirby and Hewitt and the results in Sevi's "Who Runs?". 2021 is Elections Canada's transposition, and 2025 the official result. In 2004 the carried top two are within two points, so which party was first is less certain.

Before 2025

2021 Conservative · Chris Lewis, by 6,463 votes (9.3 pts)
2019 Conservative · Chris Lewis, by 4,671 votes (6.8 pts)
2015 New Democratic · Tracey Ramsey, by 3,470 votes (5.7 pts)

In the old Essex on the 2013 boundaries, the riding most of the 2025 electors in today's Essex lived in; Elections Canada's official results.

What kind of place Essex is

Population: 131,8252021 census
Area: 2,426km²
Density: 54people per km²
Electors: 110,489on the 2025 lists

Distinctions · ranked against all 343 ridings

4th-most populous in Canada
131,825 people, 2021 census · 4th of 343
6th-most home owners
87.9% of households own their home, 6th highest of 343 (Share of households that own their home, 2021 census)

Share of households that own their home is 87.9% — about 1.2 times the median riding's 71.4%.
highestlowest6th highest of 343
Median total household income is $103,000 — about 1.2 times the median riding's $84,000.
highestlowest55th highest of 343
Median age is 44.4 — a little higher than the median riding's 41.6.
highestlowest87th highest of 343
Share with French as a mother tongue is 2.8% — about 1.7 times the median riding's 1.6%.
highestlowest118th highest of 343
Share who are immigrants is 13.3% — about 77 percent of the median riding's 17.3%.
highestlowest146th lowest of 343
Share aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% — a little lower than the median riding's 28.2%.
highestlowest162nd lowest of 343

2021 Census on the 2023 boundaries; each rule places this riding among all 343. Density is the census population over the riding's area.

IDid this riding change?

Yes. 96% of the 2025 electors in today's Essex lived in the old Essex; by area, 12% of the riding came from other ridings.

Share of today's electorsFormer riding

95.8%Essex 87.7% of the area · 95% of it kept

4.2%Chatham-Kent—Leamington 12.3% of the area · 9% of it kept

How this is measured. Electors: the share of the current riding's 2025 ordinary-list electors who lived in each former riding, each 2025 polling division placed in the 2013 riding a point inside it falls in. Area: the share of the current riding's area that came from each former riding, by intersecting the 2013 and 2023 boundary files, and how much of the former riding that part was. Area is land, not population. Elections Canada counts 48 of 343 ridings as entirely unchanged.

IIThe 2025 result

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	2021	±
Chris Lewis	Conservative	46,123	57.5%	40.7%	+16.8
Chris Sutton	Liberal	29,389	36.7%	15.4%	+21.3
Lori Wightman	New Democratic	3,826	4.8%	31.5%	−26.7
Jason A. E. Henry	People's	843	1.1%	10.1%	−9.0

The 2021 column is Elections Canada's official transposition of the 2021 result onto these 2023 boundaries. ± is the change in each party's share. It is not "swing": with four or more competitive parties there is no single pair to swing between.

IIIHow close was it, really

Third place vs. the margin

3,826 votes

New Democratic took fewer than the 16,734-vote margin.

Election-day polls won by others

7 of 243

No poll ended in a tie.

Fig. 2 — Each square is one election-day poll: ■ won by the Conservatives (236) · ■ won by another party (7).

Flip the seatHypothetical

It would have taken 8,368 voters switching from Conservative to Liberal — 10.4% of the 80,181 valid votes, 10.4 points — to change the result. No ballot was cast this way; this only moves votes between the top two.

Voters who switch: 0016,736

Conservative46,123

Liberal29,389

Still Conservative by 16,734 votes. Actual margin: 16,734.

IVElection day versus advance

Only 53.3% of this riding's votes were cast at election-day polls. The rest were advance or special ballots.

On election day the Conservatives took 60.5%, the Liberals 33.1%, the New Democrats 5.1% and the People's Party 1.3%; in advance and special ballots, 54.1%, 40.7%, 4.4% and 0.8%, in that order.

Share of the valid votes by party, election-day polls against advance and special ballots, Essex, April 28, 2025

Shares of the valid votes cast at election-day polls, and of those cast at advance polls, at mobile polls and by special ballot; the gap is the second less the first, in points. Source: Elections Canada, poll-by-poll results, the 2025 general election.

The figures

Party	Election day	Advance and special	Gap
Conservative	60.5%	54.1%	−6.4
Liberal	33.1%	40.7%	+7.6
New Democratic	5.1%	4.4%	−0.7
People's Party	1.3%	0.8%	−0.5

An association, not a cause. Voters who cast ballots before election day differed from those who turned out on the day. It does not say why. There is no poll-level turnout figure on this page: the elector count on a polling division includes people who voted in advance and were counted elsewhere.

VWhere it is

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Fig. 3 — Essex and its 4 neighbouring ridings.

Sources and citation

"Essex — federal riding profile and 2025 results."
The Political Record. https://politicalrecord.ca/riding/essex/
Accessed 2026-11-10.

Results and transposition: Elections Canada. Boundaries: Elections Canada / Statistics Canada, Open Government Licence – Canada. Census: Statistics Canada 2021 Census. Member: House of Commons.

Figures reconcile to the certified national total of 19,641,663 votes. The member is as the House of Commons listed them on 2026-11-01. Page built 2026-11-10.