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For the Ottawa Centre provincial electoral district, please see Ottawa Centre (provincial electoral district).

Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north and east borders have remained the Ottawa River and Rideau Canal, respectively) have changed over the years to account for population changes, the riding has always comprised the central areas of Ottawa, the nation's capital.

Ottawa Centre is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Paul Dewar from the New Democratic Party (NDP). Dewar, a teacher and the son of former Ottawa mayor, Marion Dewar, defeated Liberal Party candidate Richard Mahoney by more than 5,000 votes in the January 23, 2006 federal election.

    Ottawa Centre
        History
        Members of Parliament
        Geography
            2006 federal election
            2004 federal election
        See also

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History
The riding was created in 1966 from Carleton, Ottawa West and Ottawa East ridings.

The riding was won in the 1984 election by New Democrat Mike Cassidy. The riding was subsequently won by Liberal Mac Harb in the 1988 election who held it until 2003 when he was appointed to the Senate. The riding was left vacant by Prime Minster Paul Martin until the 2004 election when Ed Broadbent, a former leader of the NDP, defeated Liberal Richard Mahoney, a high-profile corporate lobbyist and long-time ally of former Prime Minister Paul Martin. The other candidates in 2004 were Mike Murphy of the Conservatives, David Chernushenko of the Greens, Louis Lang of the Marxist-Leninists, Michael Foster, Stuart Ryan of the Communists, Robert Gauthier, and Carla Marie Dancey.

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Members of Parliament

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	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1.	George McIlraith	September 9, 1968	April 27, 1972	Liberal
2.	Hugh Poulin	January 4, 1973	April 28, 1978	Liberal
3.	Robert de Cotret	October 16, 1978	March 26, 1979	Progressive Conservative
4.	John Evans	October 9, 1979	July 9, 1984	Liberal
5.	Michael Cassidy	November 5, 1984	October 1, 1988	New Democratic Party
6.	Mac Harb	December 12, 1988	September 9, 2003	Liberal
7.	Ed Broadbent	October 4, 2004	November 29, 2005	New Democratic Party
8.	Paul Dewar	April 3, 2006		New Democratic Party

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Geography
The riding covers most of downtown Ottawa, including the Parliament Buildings. From the historic Rideau Canal, the riding stretches west encompassing the neighbourhoods of Downtown, Centretown (Centretown West which includes Little Italy is usually considered a distinct neighbourhorhood), Lebreton Flats, Mechanicsville, Hintonburg and Westboro. The riding encompasses additional neighbourhoods south of downtown, including The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Lees Avenue, Old Ottawa East and others.

Party support varies between different parts of the riding. The consistently best areas for the NDP are Old Ottawa South, The Glebe, and Centretown. Old Ottawa South and The Glebe are also the main Green party areas. The far south and west of the riding around Hog's Back and Carlingwood Park, the large homes near the Civic Hospital, the expensive homes and apartments by the Rideau Canal, and the more expensive downtown condos are the most strongly Liberal and Conservative areas. The major swing areas are the western portions of the riding such as Hintonburg and Westboro. While traditionally Liberal, these areas were won by both Broadbent and Dewar, winning the seat for the NDP.

Many public sector workers live in the riding. The northern part of the riding contains many government office buildings, including Parliament Hill. The riding also includes Carleton University and Saint Paul University's campuses and residences.

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2006 federal election
Broadbent announced in 2005 that he would not run for re-election so he could devote more time to care for his ailing wife, Lucille. Richard Mahoney was again the Liberal candidate, hoping that, without an opposing star candidate, such as Broadbent, he would be elected this time. The NDP nominated Paul Dewar, a teacher and son of former mayor Marion Dewar. In November 2005, The Ottawa Citizen reported that Mahoney had been caught illegally lobbying, an important concern in an election campaign focused on Liberal corruption and ethic violations. As the Liberal national numbers declined over the course of the campaign, it seemed more likely that the NDP could retain the seat. Mahoney went on the offensive late in the campaign, claiming a vote for Paul Dewar would help the Conservatives and threatening a lawsuit against his opponent two days before the election. Dewar retained most of Broadbent's voters and won by over 5000 votes. The riding also gave the Green Party of Canada one of its best performances nationwide with over 6,500 votes, over 10%.

2006 nomination contests

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