Opponents try to break Liberal stranglehold on Ottawa South

Ottawa South has voted Liberal in every election since it was created in 1988, and 2015 was no exception.

Liberal David McGuinty, who's held the riding since 2004, enjoyed the largest margin of victory of any local candidate in 2015, topping the second-place Conservative by more than 23,000 votes.

This race pits him against Independent Ahmed Bouragba; Rodrigo Bolanos of the People's Party; union negotiator and Alta Vista Community Association executive Morgan Gay for the NDP; Independent Sarmad Laith; Green Party candidate Les Schram, who also ran under their banner in last year's provincial election; Conservative Eli Tannis, who helped run his family's food distribution company and its foundation; and Larry Wasslen of the Communist Party of Canada.

Candidates are included in this riding profile once they've been listed as a confirmed candidate by Elections Canada, chosen as the winner of a nomination contest or who were the chosen candidate by a party that got at least one per cent of the national popular vote in 2015.

Ottawa South in 2015

Candidate questionnaires

CBC Ottawa sent every candidate running in eastern Ontario or western Quebec seven questions via their party or a publicly available email address.

They were asked to stick to 25 to 100 word answers, depending on the questions. 

Their answers have not been edited by CBC.

Morgan Gay

David McGuinty

Les Schram

Eli Tannis