Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party is running its 2007 candidate in the Toronto Centre byelection.
The party's riding association acclaimed Pamela Taylor as its candidate at a Tuesday night nomination meeting.
In 2007, Taylor finished second to Liberal George Smitherman, who stepped down as an MPP and cabinet minister to run for mayor of Toronto.
She captured just over 9,000 votes, or about 20 per cent of the vote. In comparison, Smitherman had 21,522 people vote for him, earning about 48 per cent of the ballots cast. He was first elected in Toronto Centre in 1999.
In 2003, the Tories also finished second with about 22 per cent of the vote.
The Liberals have nominated former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, and veteran nurse and activist Cathy Crowe will be running for the NDP.
In a news release, Taylor said: "The McGuinty Liberals continue to take Toronto for granted. More than ever, people in Toronto Centre are saying 'no' to more McGuinty Liberal tax hikes, record spending and runaway deficits. They deserve to see real change."
The McGuinty Liberals last faced a Toronto byelection test in mid-September. Dr. Eric Hoskins held the mid-town riding of St. Paul's for the Liberals. Michael Bryant had resigned as MPP there to take a position as CEO of Invest Toronto. He resigned that job after becoming involved in a fatal motor vehicle incident with a bicyclist that led to Bryant facing criminal charges.
Toronto Centre stretches from the southern boundary of Mount Pleasant Cemetery south to Lake Ontario. It is bounded on the east by the Don River and on the west by Yonge Street and Avenue Road.
There are 114,851 people in the riding. It is home to some of the city's wealthiest residents, mainly in Rosedale, and some of its poorest in Regent Park. Toronto's gay village is centred around Church and Wellesley Streets. Murray is openly gay, as is Smitherman.
Federally, the riding is represented by Liberal Bob Rae.
