Voters in Toronto-Danforth head to the polls to elect Layton successor Monday

It’s byelection day in Toronto-Danforth, as voters choose a successor to Jack Layton.

PAWEL DWULIT / CANADIAN PRESS

NDP candidate for Toronto-Danforth Craig Scott (centre) arrives at a polling station to cast his ballot with MP Olivia Chow (right) and his partner Kovit Ratchadasri (left).

By: Colin Perkel The Canadian Press, Published on Mon Mar 19 2012

It’s byelection day in Toronto-Danforth, as voters choose a successor to Jack Layton.

The increasingly popular Layton held the riding for the New Democrats through four elections before his death last August.

Polls and pundits suggest the NDP’s Craig Scott will easily win the vote in the riding with strong NDP roots.

Liberal candidate Grant Gordon is hoping to turn the riding red, but his campaign began late and Layton’s halo still looms large.

In any event, observers say the outcome of the vote will have little effect on the larger political landscape.

Nor does it seem likely to affect the outcome of the NDP leadership race, which is just days away.

Nine other candidates, including three independents, are also in the race.

About 75,000 people are eligible to cast ballots, with polls closing at 8:30 p.m. eastern.

Currently, the NDP holds 101 seats in the Commons to the Conservatives’ 165. The Liberals have 35. Rounding out the standings are the Bloc Quebecois with four seats, the Green Party with one, and an independent.

Toronto-Danforth, just to the east of the city’s downtown area, is a diverse riding, known for its large Greek, Chinese and other ethnic communities.

Layton first claimed the riding from the Liberals in 2004 in a close race, but his popularity increased in the following years, and he won by huge margins.

That popularity, and the riding’s roots, should keep it firmly in NDP hands, observers said.

“You have people who I don’t think have completely forgotten the memory of Jack Layton and that will loom significantly over how people choose to cast their vote,” said Bryan Evans, a professor of political science at Ryerson University.

“And the reality is: It is a riding with a bit of a tradition for voting for the NDP.”

Scott is a law professor, human rights lawyer and neophyte politician. The Liberal candidate is Grant Gordon, an advertising executive, while the Conservatives are being represented by Andrew Keyes, a communications consultant.

Gordon faced an extra obstacle in that his nomination came late in the game, and only after his losing opponent raised eyebrows by declaring himself pro-life in opposition to the Liberal party’s position on women’s reproductive rights.

“It’s definitely an NDP riding and Jack was a huge part of building it,” Scott said in an interview.

“(Initially) quite a high percentage of the conversations would focus on people’s very fond memories of Jack . . . and then it began to shift more towards ‘how is it that you will be a worthy successor to Jack?’”

Gordon agreed, saying people initially said they voted for Layton — rather than the NDP — but were more focused now on the future.

Keyes did not respond to an interview request.