Election Profile: Parry-Sound Muskoka riding
For the first time in two decades, Parry Sound-Muskoka is going to have a new MPP after the June 2 election.
Veteran Parry-Sound Muskoka Progressive Conservative MPP Norm Miller is calling it quits after more than 20 years. Miller has been in office since a byelection in March 2001.
Running to replace Miller are NDP candidate Erin Horvath and Green candidate Matt Richter. Horvath is a social entrepreneur and community development innovator.
She told CTV News what she is hearing most from voters are concerns affordability and housing.
“What I’m hearing from businesses is that they can not grow their businesses or even staff their businesses because they don’t have enough workers," said Horvath.
"You ask the workers what’s going on there and they say we don’t have the housing we need ... We don’t have the childcare we need to get into the workforce. In some cases, it's transportation that’s the issue and then always it’s the cost of living. (Wages) do not add up to what we need to make a living here and the results have been pretty catastrophic."
She said her party will create 250,000 affordable rental units in the next 10 years. The NDP also plans to cool the housing market by implementing a non-resident speculation tax, raise minimum wage by $1 each year for the next five years until it reaches $20 in 2026.
For his part, Richter is a father of three, a teacher with Trillium Lakelands District School Board and small business owner.
He agrees the lack of affordable housing is the main issue in the riding and said the Greens would also commit to building affordable housing units: 100,000 units in the next decade, including 60,000 permanent supportive housing units with wraparound mental health services.
“This election is about priorities," Richter said.
"The funding has to come from somewhere and when we have a government currently that’s wanting to build $10 billion highways south of us near the GTA, we think that that’s not the priority the people here in Parry-Sound Muskoka want or deserve.”
Replacing Miller on the ballot for the Tories is Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith. As has been the case in many ridings in the north, when CTV reached out for an interview with the PC candidate, we were told the request could not be accommodated.
CTV News also didn't interview a Liberal candidate because there isn't one. The party dropped former candidate Barry Stanley because of a book he published that details scientifically baseless views on homosexuality.
Other names on the ballot include New Blue candidate Doug Maynard, Ontario Party candidate Andrew John Cocks, Populist Party Ontario candidate Brad Waddell and Daniel Predie Jr., who is running as an independent.
The electoral district covers more than 19,000 kilometres with a population of almost 95,000 people.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.