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
RCMP uncovers plot to sell drones and equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
BREAKING Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Cherry blossoms blooming in Canada: Here's what to know
There is a swaying sea of colour in some cities across Canada, and it's a sure sign of spring: cherry blossoms are in bloom.
Murder charges filed against U.S. woman who crashed into building hosting birthday party, killing 2 kids
A Michigan woman was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and other crimes after prosecutors say she drunkenly smashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a birthday party, killing two young siblings and injuring several other people.
Toronto's police chief clarifies initial statement on Umar Zameer acquittal, says he 'accepts' jury's finding
Toronto's Chief of Police has clarified a statement that he'd hoped for "a different outcome" made just after Umar's Zameer acquittal, telling reporters Tuesday he supports and accepts the jury's finding in the five-week trial.