Sometimes you may find it hard to remember in which riding you reside since the rapid growth in York Region has lead to re-alignments every few years.

That is especially the case in Oak-Ridges Markham, which has only had its own MP since 2004.

The riding was cobbled together with pieces from four prior ridings and includes Whitchurch-Stouffville and parts of Markham, King and Richmond Hill. During its not-very-long history, residents have known no other federal representative than Liberal Lui Temelkovski.

The first MP of Macedonian heritage, Mr. Temelkovski moved here at age 13. He has served on various committees and as associate critic for public works and government services during his time in the Commons.

In both 2004 and 2006, the Markham resident defeated Conservative Bob Callow, though the gap narrowed from roughly 11,000 to 6,500 votes last time out.

Before that, it was Bryon Wilfert (now MP for Richmond Hill) who beat Mr. Callow in Oak Ridges while cabinet minister John McCallum defeated Jim Jones in Markham.

Instead of Mr. Callow, this time, it is insurance broker Paul Calandra running for the Conservatives.

He has long worked behind the scenes on campaigns for Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty, as well as serving as chief of staff for Steve Gilchrist, a cabinet minister in the Mike Harris government.

The Whitchurch-Stouffville resident also boasts some green credentials as a board member of groups like the Oak Ridges Trail Association and the Manson Environmental Review Committee.

In the 2006 election, the NDP and Green parties managed shares of 10 and 5 per cent of the vote, respectively.

Markham resident Andy Arifin runs for the NDP this time, replacing Janice Hagan who has run in several federal and provincial elections.

A cum laude graduate of York University’s political science program, Mr. Arifin ran in nearby Markham-Unionville in the 2007 provincial election.

The Green Party’s local riding association held its nomination meeting Tuesday night, but did not release the name of its selected candidate before press time yesterday.

Just the facts on Oak Ridges-Markham:

* 169,642 is the population of the riding
* 52% is the increase in the population since 2001
* 47% is the share of vote garnered by the Liberals in 2006
* 42% is the population of riding who are immigrants
* $117,761 is the average family income

Source: yorkregion.com and 2006 Canadian census
   David Fleischer