Get ready for campaign signs on snowbanks! Ontario voters will soon choose a new provincial government.
On Tuesday, January 28, Premier Doug Ford confirmed that an election campaign would officially begin at 4 pm that day with voting day to be Thursday, February 27. The election campaign comes after months of speculation that the Premier would ask voters for a new mandate in the spring of 2025, rather than wait until the next fixed election date in June, 2026 which would have completed a four-year term. Ford, whose Progressive Conservative (PC) party has governed since 2018, has recently made bold statements against likely American tariffs on Canadian goods exported to the United States, and President Donald Trump’s repeated suggestions Canada join the United States.
There will be no change to current electoral district (riding) boundaries in this provincial election. The ridings remain as Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, which contains the entire territory of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, part of the former Township of Cumberland within the City of Ottawa, and the entire Township of North Glengarry. Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry contains all of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry except for North Glengarry.
In Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Incumbent PC Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Stéphane Sarrazin will be seeking re-election. The Ontario Liberal Party candidate challenging Sarrazin is Trevor Stewart, a city councillor in Clarence-Rockland. As of publication time, the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) had not yet nominated a candidate. The Green Party of Ontario candidate is Thaila Riden of East Hawkesbury. Riden serves on the board of the Vankleek Hill Nature Society, and as President of the non-profit ECO East where he is involved in grassroots projects, like the development of a regional climate action plan.
Incumbent PC MPP Nolan Quinn, who is also Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities, is seeking re-election in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. As of January 24, the Ontario Liberal Party, NDP, and Green party had not nominated candidates in the district.
According to political opinion poll aggregation site 338canada.com, The PC party had an average support of 44 per cent of voters as of Sunday, January 24. The Liberal party, led by Bonnie Crombie, was at 25 per cent, the NDP led by Marit Stiles had 20 per cent, and the Green party’s support was seven per cent. Also, as of January 24, 338canada.com listed Glengarry-Prescott-Russell as likely remaining under PC representation. Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry was listed as a safe hold for the PC party. Of course, the only poll that matters is the one on election day.
For information and updates about voter registration and other regulations involving the provincial election, go to https://www.elections.on.ca/en.html, or call 1-888-668-8683.
