Ottawa West—Nepean

Ottawa West—Nepean (Ottawa-Ouest—Nepean) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997.

Geography
The district includes the neighbourhoods of Shirleys Bay, Crystal Beach, Rocky Point, Bayshore, Britannia, Britannia Bay, Lincoln Heights, Whitehaven, Glabar Park, Queensway, Kenson Park, Redwood, Graham Park, Qualicum, Leslie Park, Briargreen, Centrepointe, Woodroffe, Bel-Air Park, Bel-Air Heights, Braemar Park, Copeland Park, Navaho, City View, Ryan Farm, Skyline, Fisher Heights, Parkwood Hills, Carleton Heights, Fisher Glen, Borden Farm, Crestview, Meadowlands, Woodpark, and the western half of Carlington in the City of Ottawa.

History
The electoral district was created in 1996 from Ottawa West, Nepean and part of Lanark—Carleton ridings.

2012 Federal Redistribution
The 2012 federal redistribution saw the riding gain a small portion from Ottawa Centre, but it remained largely unchanged.

2022 Federal Redistribution
The 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution resulted in several boundary changes to the riding.

The eastern riding boundary along Merivale Road was pushed further east to Fisher Avenue. As a consequence, the entire Carlington neighbourhood (not just the western portion) is now part of the riding.

The north-east boundary has also been shifted east, from Maitland and Sherwood Avenues to Golden Avenue and then along Carling Avenue to the 417 Highway. Consequently the McKellar Park and McKellar Heights neighbourhoods have been reassigned from the Ottawa Centre riding into Ottawa West—Nepean.

A small corner of the riding between Merivale Avenue on the West and the Rideau River on the east, and from the railroad tracks in the north to West Hunt Club Road in the south, has been moved from Ottawa West-Nepean to Nepean. While largely retail-commercial in nature, it includes a number of residential homes along or near Prince of Wales Dr.

The north-west boundary has been moved east from Hertzberg Road to Davidson Side Road north of Carling Avenue. That portion has been moved into the Kanata (formerly the Kanata-Carleton) riding. It is a rural area which includes a large area of Federal lands, and so is of small consequence to elector counts.

Demographics
According to the 2021 Canadian census

Ethnic groups: 60.7% White, 8.9% Black, 7.0% South Asian, 5.3% Arab, 4.6% Chinese, 4.1% Indigenous, 2.2% Southeast Asian, 2.0% Filipino, 1.4% Latin American, 1.4% West Asian

Languages: 60.3% English, 6.5% French, 4.2% Arabic, 2.0% Mandarin, 1.7% Italian, 1.4% Spanish, 1.2% Somali, 1.2% Cantonese, 1.1% Vietnamese, 1.0% Tagalog

Religions: 49.3% Christian (26.3% Catholic, 4.0% Anglican, 3.7% United Church, 2.3% Christian Orthodox, 1.3% Pentecostal, 1.0% Presbyterian, 10.7% Other), 10.8% Muslim, 3.3% Hindu, 1.8% Jewish, 1.5% Buddhist, 31.5% None

Median income: $42,800 (2020)

Average income: $55,900 (2020)

Members of Parliament
This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:

In the 2004 federal election, Marlene Catterall defeated Conservative Party candidate Sean Casey in a very close election.

In the 2006 federal election, Catterall stepped aside, and high-profile Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament, John Baird, contested and won the riding for the Conservative Party.

Until February 3, 2015, he was a member of the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has also previously served as President of the Treasury Board, then Minister of the Environment, then as Government House Leader. Baird resigned from the House of Commons on March 16, 2015.

Riding associations
Riding associations are the local branches of national political parties: