As candidates wrap up campaigning for the June 2 provincial election, we invited all seven who are vying to represent Parry Sound-Muskoka to answer five questions of local importance.
Their answers are listed in randomly generated order.
Read their previous answers at the links below.
What in your opinion is the single most important issue facing Parry Sound-Muskoka in this election?
What separates your party’s platform from the rest?
The final question:
Why should the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka vote for you?
Matt Richter, Green Party
We are facing a crossroads here in Parry Sound-Muskoka. For 30 years, our riding has been represented by the same party, and the same ideas. During that time, we’ve seen the cost of living go up, housing prices soar through the roof, less care for seniors and the elderly, options for public transportation dwindle, and a climate and health crisis that has left people struggling to find the care they need. Our kids’ mental health is suffering. Working people are struggling to make ends meet. Wealthy land speculators are driving up prices on everyone. In this election, a vote for a status quo party is going to be a vote for more of the same: the status quo. I don’t want that, and I’m pretty sure most people here don’t want that either.
It’s time for real change. It’s time for a new approach to old problems that puts people before politics and prioritizes new ideas over the status quo. That’s what this election is about: Priorities. To voters throughout our riding, and to those so disaffected by same-old politics that they don’t even care to vote, I would simply ask: Who is making you a priority? Is anyone listening to you? Having a Green MPP can make a difference and give you a strong champion. Just ask the people of Guelph. Give a new direction a chance, and I promise that as your MPP, you will be my priority, and I will fight for you every day at Queen’s Park.
See the Green Party platform here.
Doug Maynard, New Blue Party
A vote for me as the New Blue candidate is a vote for change. Change in how government is run. The traditional way of governing that the big established parties have followed has led to huge distrust and lack of faith in government due to their long history of secret deals hidden from the public, allowing lobbyists to control policies and decision making, the habitual awarding of contracts and positions to friends and large financial supporters, the continuous flip flopping on important issues, the undemocratic appointing of candidates rather than going through the process of having candidates nominated and elected by district riding associations, the list goes on and on. New Blue is on a mission to bring honesty, transparency and integrity back to Ontario government. There has never been a better opportunity than right now to start initiating the change to a government that is accountable to the people who elect them, rather than choosing the lesser of other evils that will only continue to run government as usual and ignore the will of the average person.
See the New Blue platform here.
Graydon Smith, PC Party
I’m a proven and trusted community builder with a long track record of making decisions and getting it done. I know how to move things forward, get shovels in the ground and make a real difference for regular, hard-working people because I’ve done it before.
The choice in this election is very clear. We can choose affordability and a strong local economy, or policies that have been parachuted in from the GTA.
I humbly and respectfully ask the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka to put their trust in me, just like the people of Bracebridge did for the past 12 years. I’ll deliver the leadership and results the people of this area deserve.
See the PC platform here.
Erin Horvath, NDP
If people want to see a change in provincial policies affecting our riding, the NDP is the only party that has a critical mass of MPPs to usher in those changes. Voting for anyone else will result in a new face, but the same old Conservative policies.
As a small business owner I know that businesses are struggling to find workers. The NDP platform gives us what we need to improve housing and affordability to attract workers back to our riding.
If climate change is your top priority then voting NDP is the best chance of getting climate solutions implemented because there is strength in our number of MPPs. Our plan meets the Paris Agreement without life becoming unaffordable. Green Party policies will not have the critical numbers to be passed, will not address affordability, and we’ll spend another four years stagnated under the Conservatives. Dr. Gordon Laxer, leading Canadian climate expert from Gravenhurst, has endorsed me as the strongest candidate because of the NDP’s stance that no one is left behind, and my experience in environmental planning and advocacy with First Nations, the Forest Stewardship Council, and with a national charity.
I have over 25 years of expertise in community development and entrepreneurship that I want to put to work for our riding. Complex problem-solving is what I have dedicated my life to, and grassroots change is how I measure my success. It would be my honour to serve our riding in this way.
See the NDP platform here.
Brad Waddell, Populist Party
As your MPP I will be your servant, not your ruler. I will work to bring the services and resources you need to Parry Sound-Muskoka in the form of a higher quality of life with lower bureaucracy and mismanagement of your tax dollars. I will always listen to you and put your needs first.
See the PPO platform here.
Daniel Predie Jr, independent
As an Independent I have no absolutely no privately incorporated political party business affiliation. I am only as strong as those who stand with me in moving Parry Sound-Muskoka in the direction that will also ensure the survival of our Canadian Culture. You may read more about me at Daniel Predie Jr. For Parry Sound-Muskoka Independent Member of Parliament.
Andrew John Cocks, Ontario Party
First and foremost I am father who has lived in Muskoka since 2011 and I am running to defend and protect the future of our province and country for our next generation.
I also feel I have been called to serve you because of the very real onslaught of tyrannical overreach into our lives, and I’m running for the Ontario Party in a quest for truth and justice, and to be counted in the battle against the dystopian plans of the globalist elites.
Remember, COVID-19 didn’t lock down Ontario’s economy and segregate our society.
It was Doug Ford who imposed a lockdown and implemented vaccine passports after explicitly saying that he wouldn’t create a two-tiered society.
The Ontario party has had enough of Doug Ford and his tyranny.
I am the only candidate whose public platform stands for freedom, family, and faith.
I am also the only candidate who has publicly declared being an opponent to Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau and their authoritarian response to the COVID panic, including my opposition to lockdowns, the closing of businesses and churches, vaccine passports, and all of the misinformation that is being spread in the name of public health.
See the Ontario Party platform here.
Election day in Ontario is June 2, 2022. Advance polls are open now. Find details on when and where to vote at elections.on.ca.
If you’re on the voters list, you should have received a voter information card in the mail. Bring your voter information card and one piece of ID showing your name when you go to vote.
If you did not receive a voter information card, you can still vote, but your name may not be on the voters list. Bring one piece of ID showing your name and current residential address when you go to vote.
Main image: Queen’s Park photo “June 2012 Ontario Legislature Toronto” by Priscilla Jordão, via Wikimedia Commons, is licensed under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped from original.
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