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Ontario NDP leadership hopeful visits the Sault

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The lone official candidate to be the Ontario NDP's next leader is on a tour of northern Ontario cities.

Today, Marit Stiles was in Sault Ste. Marie

The current MPP for Toronto Davenport is looking to fill the role left by Andrea Horwath's departure.

Today she spoke with local NDP members and supporters, but first met with the Sault’s municipal election candidates to learn about the concerns of northerners.

“I think it’s really important to not just send the message that it matters that you’re going to put northern concerns first, but that you’re going to actually listen to what people in communities like Sault Ste Marie want to see happen,” said Stiles

“Like, I’m not going to be the expert on that. I want to know what people here are are doing and they need.”

Michele McCleave-Kennedy, the president of the Sault Ste. Marie District Labour Council, was among those meeting with Stiles.

“As we all know northern Ontario and southern Ontario is different and so to have the potential leader of the opposition here in Sault Ste. Marie to discuss with local community people what’s needed, is essential,” McCleave-Kennedy told CTV News.

“We need to have our voices heard so that people know that the north is very different than the south.”

Her first northern campaign stop was in North Bay on Wednesday.

There during a roundtable discussion, she said a parent told her that schools need "triple the number of educational assistants in classrooms."

The NDP Leadership hopeful said public education is a priority of hers.

"It's not normal to have giant class sizes in our schools. That's not normal and we need to get back to realizing that we can do better than this."

Stiles is set to visit Sudbury on Friday and plans to return to Northern Ontario later on in her campaign.

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