Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district)
former federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada (1998–2015)
Chatham-Kent—Essex (formerly known as Kent—Essex) was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015.
Federal riding
The federal riding was created in 1996 as "Kent—Essex" from Essex—Kent and Kent ridings. Its name was changed to the present name in 1998.
The riding includes the Municipality of Chatham-Kent located south of the Thames River, the former City of Chatham, the Town of Leamington, and the Indian reserve of Moravian 47. The population in 2001 was 106,144 and the area is 1,924 km2.
Members of Parliament
This riding has elected the following members of the members of Parliament:
Politics
The riding is evenly divided between urban and rural voters, so both manufacturing and agricultural issues sway the results.
Jerry Pickard retired just before the 2006 election campaign, and the federal Conservatives won this riding in the January 23, 2006 election on the back of a promise to help farmers by scrapping the CAIS program. Area farmers believe this promise has not been kept, but the Conservatives held on to the riding in 2008 and 2011.
Federal election results
Chatham-Kent—Essex
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.
Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district)” is former federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada (1998–2015). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chatham-Kent, Essex and federal, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “former federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada (1998–2015)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2961519. Authority coordinates are 42.277, -82.288. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1997, 2015, 1996 and 1998.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district) primary sources, Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district) archive and Chatham-Kent research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district)”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chatham-Kent—Essex (federal electoral district)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.