HALDIMAND — Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis is hoping local voters will support her bid for a second term as our local representative at the House of Commons.
Elected in 2021, Lewis has served as infrastructure critic in Conservative Prime Minister candidate Pierre Poilievre’s shadow cabinet since 2022. Lewis and her family have settled into the Dunnville area, with her husband serving as CFO and VP of Haldimand War Memorial Hospital.
Lewis shared her thoughts on the following election issues
Affordability
Lewis spoke of stories she’s heard from the community, such as parents forced to work two jobs to cover basic household needs, and the fact that one in six local households are experiencing food insecurity.
“We’re prioritizing policies that will make life more affordable for Canadians, like the 15% income tax cut that Pierre Poilievre is introducing that will save the average family $1,800 a year. That’s a direct impact,” said Lewis, while also touting the Conservative plan to remove all carbon tax in every sector.
She also touched on increasing support for local seniors, “They’re on fixed income. Many of them are still healthy and can do a part time job. For those who can, we’re allowing them to earn an extra $10,000 a year income without taxes.”
Immigration
An immigrant herself, having arrived in Canada at the age of five, Lewis is frustrated with Liberal immigration policies she sees as undermining the ability to support “Canadian citizens and newcomers alike.”
She pledged that Conservatives would restore a “common sense approach” to population growth based on merit and a limit on how many immigrants the country accepts based on existing infrastructure and resources.
She noted, “We have to be compassionate about it, because many of these immigrants came here under that social contract that ‘I’m coming here for a better life’ and that’s not what they found when they got here. They found job shortage, a health care crisis, and they found the lack of affordable homes. Many of them are relying on food banks themselves.”
Environmental issues
Lewis touted the work she’s done to secure funding to help clean up the high number of orphan gas wells in Haldimand-Norfolk.
“We worked with the Province and with both local mayors, I worked with the mayors very closely,” said Lewis of the effort.
She said Conservatives are focusing on technology, not taxes, when it comes to positive environmental impact, touting tax incentives to farmers who implement energy efficient tech improvements, instead of taxes which “really aren’t earmarked for environmental policies. We don’t believe that’s a good way of protecting the environment.”
Agriculture
Lewis said local farmers shouldn’t have to be worried about being squeezed off their land by developers.
“Our two counties are some of the highest agricultural producers in the nation. We play a very, very important role here,” said Lewis. “Anything that will create food security in our community is something that should be explored. One in six residents in Haldimand Norfolk are food insecure despite us being one of the richest agricultural areas in the nation.”
Sovereignty
Knocking on doors, Lewis has seen a high level of anxiety from local constituents on the topic of Canada’s sovereignty.
“Canadians are very resilient, and they are seeing as President Trump’s threat as very, very serious…. I believe I was one of the first people in the country, especially at the political level, who said ‘we have to take this seriously’.”
She criticized the Liberal government for shutting down parliament while a replacement for Justin Trudeau was sought.
“I think we have to look at how we got here too. Canadians are waking up to the fact that for over a decade, our country has been left in a vulnerable and weakened state. The tariff threats have shone a light on many issues we’ve faced as a nation,” she said. “Conservatives are committed to restoring and protecting Canadian sovereignty at any cost, and we need a self-reliant plan.”
Reconciliation
Lewis called Haldimand a ‘microcosm’ of the national issue of reconciliation.
“To be honest, I think everybody has suffered as a result of the tensions between the Indigenous peoples in Haldimand-Norfolk and the residents of Haldimand-Norfolk. I think both groups don’t deserve to live with this type of tension and uncertainty.”
She believes “working diligently and faithfully and with genuine sincerity and hope,” is key to progress.
“That’s hard, because there are issues of trust there,” she said.
Lewis listed better health, economic independence, safety, security, clean water, and housing as signifiers of true meaningful progress.
“There needs to be a willingness for everyone to come to the table with a commitment to resolve our difference. I have great hope that we can achieve lasting solutions and do so in the best interest of everyone living in Haldimand County,” she said.
Healthcare
“There is definitely more the federal government can do,” said Lewis on the various health care crises impacting communities around Canada.
She touted a Conservative plan to create a new blue seal standard to attract the best trained doctors to Canada while also encouraging those trained here not to leave for other countries that are paying higher, while also removing barriers for doctors to serve in provinces across the country.
“This is vitally important, especially for rural communities like ours,” she said.
