Advance voting to fill the seat left vacant by late Gord Brown began on Friday, Nov. 23.
Voters in Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau lakes will have to make a decision between five candidates; Michael Barrett of the federal Conservative Party, Mary Jean McFall of the Liberals, NDP representative Michelle Taylor, Green Party’s Lorraine Rekmans and John Turmel who is running as an independent candidate.
With the campaign trail coming to an end, Barrett, McFall, and Taylor agreed that supporting local businesses was one of their priorities.
“We need to work with the municipalities and the provincial government to ensure that whatever we can do to make operating more easily, we need to remove that red tape and that’s what our biggest responsibility is to those businesses,” said Barrett.
McFall touched on the topic by saying, “People remain nervous here in our communities — they are nervous because a plant like Procter and Gamble is closing in 2020 and they don’t see a big future for their young people to have meaningful work here in Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau lakes.”
NDP candidate Taylor says this meaningful work will only come with a boost in population.
“We need more people. That’s what I’m hearing from businesses that there aren’t enough people to fill the jobs and it’s encouraging immigration and people moving to our area,” said McFall.
Each candidate told Global News that they bring a special skill-set to the table and will make a real difference if elected.
“As a Conservative member of parliament, I will work hard for them and keep more money in their pockets and to help them make it a little further than payday,” said Barrett.
“I am hearing about the declining demographics in the schools, so bringing young families back to Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and seeing the schools filled with kids is a priority,” said McFall.
“Jagmeet Singh announced last week that the basic income project to [be] reinstated in Ontario and that’s a priority for me as well, and Brockville would be a beneficiary of that initiative,” said Taylor.
Advance voting begins Friday, Nov. 23 and continues through Nov. 26 for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes residents with the final day to vote on Dec. 3.