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The Political RecordFederal electoral districtsNo. 35101Ontario

St. Catharines

St. Catharines is a federal riding in Ontario. Chris Bittle (Liberal, first elected to the House in 2015) represents St. Catharines. Chris Bittle (Liberal) held St. Catharines for the Liberals in the 2025 election by 7,737 votes (11.6 points), with 52.0% of the vote. Bas Sluijmers (Conservative) was second with 40.4%, on a turnout of 69.3% of 97,096 electors. Member as of .

Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake · ConservativeNiagara South · ConservativeNiagara West · ConservativeSt. Catharines
Fig. 1 — St. Catharines on the board, 2023 boundaries; the ridings next door as the House holds them on . Open it on the board →

Who represents St. Catharines

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

Chris Bittle

Member of Parliament for St. Catharines

Liberal

MP since · 4 terms

  • Chair, Procedure and House Affairs committee
  • Chair, Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure
  • Liaison committee
  • Procedure and House Affairs committee

96 speeches in the 45th Parliament, most often on Committees of the House — Procedure and House Affairs.

Contact and office · House of Commons →

The 2025 result: Liberal hold

Share of the valid votes by candidate, St. Catharines, April 28, 2025

Share of the valid votes by candidate, St. Catharines, April 28, 2025Of the 66,810 valid votes, Chris Bittle (Liberal) took 52.0%, Bas Sluijmers (Conservative) 40.4% and Karen Orlandi (New Democratic) 6.0%; the 3 other candidates took 1.5% together.2025Turnout 69.3% of 97,096 electorsChris BittleLiberal52.0% · 34,7507,737 votes ahead · 11.6 ptsBas SluijmersConservative40.4% · 27,013Karen OrlandiNew Democratic6.0% · 4,021Others (3)1.5% · 1,026050%100%
Share of the valid votes by candidate, St. Catharines, April 28, 2025Of the 66,810 valid votes, Chris Bittle (Liberal) took 52.0%, Bas Sluijmers (Conservative) 40.4% and Karen Orlandi (New Democratic) 6.0%; the 3 other candidates took 1.5% together.2025Turnout 69.3% of 97,096 electorsChris BittleLiberal52.0% · 34,7507,737 votes ahead · 11.6 ptsBas SluijmersConservative40.4% · 27,013Karen OrlandiNew Democratic6.0% · 4,021Others (3)1.5% · 1,026050%100%
Shares of the 66,810 valid votes; a candidate under 1% is counted with the others. Source: Elections Canada, official voting results, the 2025 general election.
The figures
CandidatePartyVotesShare
Chris BittleLiberal34,75052.0%
Bas SluijmersConservative27,01340.4%
Karen OrlandiNew Democratic4,0216.0%
Others (3)1,0261.5%

Chris Bittle (Liberal) won St. Catharines on with 34,750 votes, 52.0% of the 66,810 valid votes. Bas Sluijmers (Conservative) was second with 27,013 (40.4%), 7,737 votes and 11.6 points behind.

Of the 66,810 valid votes, Chris Bittle (Liberal) took 52.0%, Bas Sluijmers (Conservative) 40.4% and Karen Orlandi (New Democratic) 6.0%; the 3 other candidates took 1.5% together. Turnout was 69.3% of 97,096 electors: 67,249 ballots cast, 66,810 of them valid, for 6 candidates.

Since 2021

Against the 2021 result on these boundaries, the Liberals are up 14.4 (37.6% to 52.0%), the Conservatives up 8.2 (32.2% to 40.4%) and the New Democrats down 15.2 (21.2% to 6.0%), 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: no party has held it

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

  1. 2004Liberal40.4%by 6.2 points over the Conservatives
  2. 2006†Liberal37.0%by less than 0.1 points over the Conservatives
  3. 2008changed handsConservative45.0%by 16.4 points over the Liberals
  4. 2011Conservative50.2%by 25.2 points over the New Democrats
  5. 2015changed handsLiberal42.7%by 5.6 points over the Conservatives
  6. 2019Liberal39.9%by 8.3 points over the Conservatives
  7. 2021Liberal37.6%by 5.5 points over the Conservatives
  8. 2025Liberal52.0%by 11.6 points over the Conservatives
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
YearFirstShareSecondMargin (pts)Basis
2004Liberal40.4%Conservative6.2carried, our estimate
2006†Liberal37.0%Conservative0.0carried, our estimate
2008Conservative45.0%Liberal16.4carried, our estimate
2011Conservative50.2%New Democratic25.2carried, our estimate
2015Liberal42.7%Conservative5.6carried, our estimate
2019Liberal39.9%Conservative8.3carried, our estimate
2021Liberal37.6%Conservative5.5transposed by Elections Canada
2025Liberal52.0%Conservative11.6official result

The Liberals were first at six of the eight general elections from 2004 to 2025, the Conservatives at two; it changed hands twice. In 2025 the Liberals took 52.0% of the vote here, 16.8 points above their average of 35.2% at the seven general elections from 2004 to 2021.

On today's boundaries the Liberals were first here in 2004 (40.4%), 2006 (37.0%), 2015 (42.7%), 2019 (39.9%), 2021 (37.6%) and 2025 (52.0%) and the Conservatives in 2008 (45.0%) and 2011 (50.2%), 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 160 of the 343 ridings have no degree. 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 2006 the carried top two are within two points, so which party was first is less certain.

Before 2025
  • 2021 Liberal · Chris Bittle, by 3,051 votes (5.2 pts)
  • 2019 Liberal · Chris Bittle, by 5,205 votes (8.6 pts)
  • 2015 Liberal · Chris Bittle, by 3,233 votes (5.6 pts)

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

What kind of place St. Catharines is

Population
119,8702021 census
Area
96km²
Density
1,247people per km²
Electors
97,096on the 2025 lists
  • Median total household income is $71,500 — a little lower than the median riding's $84,000.
    highestlowest72nd lowest of 343
  • Median age is 45.2 — a little higher than the median riding's 41.6.
    highestlowest78th highest of 343
  • Share of households that own their home is 63.6% — a little lower than the median riding's 71.4%.
    highestlowest102nd lowest of 343
  • Share with French as a mother tongue is 1.8% — a little higher than the median riding's 1.6%.
    highestlowest146th highest of 343
  • Share aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.5% — a little lower than the median riding's 28.2%.
    highestlowest160th lowest of 343
  • Share who are immigrants is 19.3% — a little higher than the median riding's 17.3%.
    highestlowest162nd highest 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. 94% of the 2025 electors in today's St. Catharines lived in the old St. Catharines; by area, 11% of the riding came from other ridings.

Share of today's electorsFormer riding
93.8%St. Catharines 88.9% of the area · 97% of it kept
6.2%Niagara Centre 11.0% of the area · 2% of it kept
0.0%Niagara Falls 0.2% of the area · under 0.1% 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

CandidatePartyVotes%2021±
Chris BittleLiberal34,75052.0%37.6%+14.4
Bas SluijmersConservative27,01340.4%32.2%+8.2
Karen OrlandiNew Democratic4,0216.0%21.2%−15.2
3 further candidates, each under 1% of the vote
Dennis WilsonPeople's5220.8%
Christopher ReillyIndependent3060.5%
Taha Alexander Haj-AhmadOther1980.3%
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
4,021 votes
New Democratic took fewer than the 7,737-vote margin.
Election-day polls won by others
83 of 193
3 polls ended in an exact tie.
Fig. 2 — Each square is one election-day poll: ■ won by the Liberals (107) · ■ won by another party (83) · ▨ tied (3).
Flip the seatHypothetical

It would have taken 3,869 voters switching from Liberal to Conservative — 5.8% of the 66,810 valid votes, 5.8 points — to change the result. No ballot was cast this way; this only moves votes between the top two.

Liberal34,750
Conservative27,013
Still Liberal by 7,737 votes. Actual margin: 7,737.

IVElection day versus advance

Only 53.6% of this riding's votes were cast at election-day polls. The rest were advance or special ballots.

On election day the Liberals took 47.4%, the Conservatives 43.6%, the New Democrats 6.9% and the People's Party 1.1%; in advance and special ballots, 57.3%, 36.7%, 5.0% and 0.5%, in that order.

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

Share of the valid votes by party, election-day polls against advance and special ballots, St. Catharines, April 28, 2025On election day the Liberals took 47.4%, the Conservatives 43.6%, the New Democrats 6.9% and the People's Party 1.1%; in advance and special ballots, 57.3%, 36.7%, 5.0% and 0.5%, in that order.Election dayAdvance and special± pts, the gapLiberal47.4%57.3%+9.9 ptsConservative43.6%36.7%−6.9 ptsNew Democratic6.9%5.0%−1.9 ptsPeople's Party1.1%0.5%−0.6 pts050%100%
Share of the valid votes by party, election-day polls against advance and special ballots, St. Catharines, April 28, 2025On election day the Liberals took 47.4%, the Conservatives 43.6%, the New Democrats 6.9% and the People's Party 1.1%; in advance and special ballots, 57.3%, 36.7%, 5.0% and 0.5%, in that order.Election dayAdvance and special± pts, the gapLiberal47.4%57.3%+9.9 ptsConservative43.6%36.7%−6.9 ptsNew Democratic6.9%5.0%−1.9 ptsPeople's Party1.1%0.5%−0.6 pts050%100%
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
PartyElection dayAdvance and specialGap
Liberal47.4%57.3%+9.9
Conservative43.6%36.7%−6.9
New Democratic6.9%5.0%−1.9
People's Party1.1%0.5%−0.6
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

loading basemap…
Fig. 3 — St. Catharines and its 3 neighbouring ridings.

Sources and citation

"St. Catharines — federal riding profile and 2025 results." The Political Record. https://politicalrecord.ca/riding/st-catharines/ 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.