TORONTO — Voters in the Ontario riding of St. Paul’s will go to the polls in a provincial byelection to elect a new MPP on Sept. 17.

The byelection became necessary after incumbent, former Liberal cabinet member Michael Bryant, vacated his  seat in June to work for Invest Toronto corporation.

One of the major issues expected to fuel the debate in the riding is the Liberal provincial government’s plan to create a harmonized sales tax, which would merge the eight per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent federal GST.

St. Paul’s is bounded on the north primarily by Eglinton Avenue West; on the east by Bayview Avenue, Moore Avenue and the Don River tributary; on its south by the Canadian Pacific railway south of Davenport Road; and on the west by parts of Ossington Avenue, Winona Drive and Dufferin Street.

According to the 2006 census, St. Paul’s is home to approximately 111,000 people, 68 per cent of whom are tenants. Estimates peg the riding’s Jewish population at around 15,500.

The median household income is $53,905.

The CJN will feature more in-depth reports on candidates, issues and platforms in the weeks leading up to the byelection.

As of deadline last week, only the Liberal and Green parties had officially nominated candidates.

Eric Hoskins will represent the Liberals. He is founder of international charity War Child Canada and was an adviser to former federal MP Lloyd Axworthy.

Chris Chopik, a realtor and community activist, will run for the Green Party.

It’s expected that Toronto Sun newspaper columnist Sue-Ann Levy will represent the Progressive Conservative party.

 The New Democratic Party is scheduled to choose its candidate on Sept. 9.