A look at the major party candidates running in Sudbury

There will be a few familiar faces running for office when Sudburians head to the polls June 2.

The man looking to hang onto his job is incumbent NDP candidate and labour organizer Jamie West.

West, who comes from a background in the mining industry, said voters are going to need a loud voice in Queen's Park to fight for the city and its people.

"Our No. 1 issue in Sudbury for the last year has been Laurentian University," West said.

"There's lots of issues to solve, like affordability and the opioid crisis, but I think the No. 1 issue people are looking at is Laurentian University."

He said Sudburians want LU out of insolvency and for the school's greenspace to be saved.

"What we need is a government that is going to invest in the school, not only to recover but return those jobs that we learned in the auditor general report shouldn't have been lost in the first place," said West.

"The people, the faculty and the staff are really proud of the school and I think for the past year they've been waiting to rebuild the reputation of the university. We can make it a diamond again (but) it's going to take time."

For his part, Liberal candidate David Farrow is betting he can turn the riding back to Liberal red. The retired elementary school principal is hoping to represent the city in a Steven Del Duca government.

"Sure as a party, last time we were put in the penalty box but we have a whole new different approach to our party at this point in time," Farrow said.

"We have a brand new leader in Steven Del Duca, we have a brand new, diverse team. This is the first time ever that we've ever had gender balance in a political party in Ontario. And the fact is we have a better plan."

Farrow said the Liberal platform has been fully costed and focuses on the issue he said is most important to Sudburians: affordability.

"Many people just don't feel like they're making ends meet anymore," he said.

"The price of gas is too high, the price of food is too high, people just don't feel like they can get ahead. So for us, we've already brought things forward in our plan to address some of these things. It's about putting money into people's pockets or at least not taking more out of it."

Farrow said the Liberals are proposing a break on HST, on food and anything you can buy at a restaurant that's $20 or less.

Many Sudbury voters will also recognize Green Party candidate David Robinson, a former Laurentian University economist.

Robinson is no stranger to the city's election scene, having run in several provincial and federal elections already. He said the No. 1 issue facing the city will be tying Sudbury into the new green economy.

"If we do that, we can really come out ahead economically and make a contribution to the world," Robinson said.

"The one way we do that is we really beef up Laurentian University and the mining supply sector. That's where we go global, that's where we use lots and lots of talent, that's how we attract people and that's how we make a contribution to the world."

Robinson said a lot of the success the city will see is depending on critical minerals and a mining strategy.

"They're talking (to other levels of government) about mining because they know that exporting our minerals is going to make money," he said.

"They're putting a lot of emphasis on building cars in southern Ontario but for Sudbury, our niche in that is the mining supply sector, where supply the world with the best in mining supply technology."

CTV News made multiple attempts to reach Progressive Conservative candidate Marc Despatie through his campaign and the party. They declined our request for an on-camera interview.

Other candidates running in the race include Adrien Berthier, Jason Laface, David Popsecu and Sheldon Pressy.