HALDIMAND—With heavy rumours of a provincial election coming ahead of the planned federal election next fall, local party associations are busy trying to find the candidates to best represent them.
While Amy Martin has been appointed as the PC candidate and Bobbi Ann Brady is a lock to run for a second term as an independent, Haldimand’s Liberal Riding Association has put out an open call for candidates to step forward.
Association Vice-President Peter Black admitted that any Liberal candidate will likely face an uphill battle in Haldimand Norfolk’s current political climate, but believes in the party’s approach to provincial politics that will promote “integrity and balance”.
“Balance always leads to stability. If you go to extremism, you throw that balance out of whack and it ends up costing you a lot of money in the long run,” said Black, noting three primary pillars to achieve this balance: environment, economy, and social justice.
“The environment is just another name for long-term planning, planning for your children and grandchildren,” said Black. “The economy – you have limited dollars…. Social justice takes into consideration welfare, education, social housing, that sort of thing.”
He added, “Some parties’ total focus is on money rather than actually serving the taxpayers. I believe the Liberals with Bonnie Crombie as our new leader will be more focused on that.”
In his role, Black has spoken with current MPP Bobbi Ann Brady about potentially joining them as the Liberal candidate, which he said she ultimately turned down: “She said it’s a matter of integrity for her. She’s got to go her way, and we’ll just have to continue to see if we can find an appropriate candidate to represent the people of the Haldimand Norfolk riding.”
As for who that candidate will ultimately be, he said, “We have to have a nomination plan, a vetting process. I’ve had about three potential candidates so far…. That process is pretty stringent, where they’re asking some pretty detailed questions.”
From there, Black said that local Liberal party members will have the opportunity to vote on who will represent them from that vetted list.
“We’re looking to find a good candidate who has integrity and will represent the people in this riding,” he said.
Black addressed the 2022 municipal election, when Liberal candidate Aziz Chouhdery of Mississauga was selected late in the process without a local association vote as no local candidates stepped forward; he ultimately garnered only 7.3% of the total vote.
“I was a little disappointed myself at that time,” said Black, noting there is a new executive leading the process this time. “We’re trying to slowly rise from the ashes, like the phoenix I guess you could say.”
Black highlighted the recent Ontario Auditor General’s 2024 report of the provincial government’s efforts this year.
“One of the glaring things that stood out there was their lack of planning. Planning is key,” said Black.
He also blasted the Ford government’s reliance on MZOs: “I never even heard of an MZO while I was on (Norfolk) council until the Ford government came into play. Then all of a sudden, I’m seeing all these MZOs bypassing councils and the public and just going directly – like the appointment of a candidate, the same sort of thing, as if democracy is in the way for the Conservative Party.”
The Press will provide an update on any upcoming elections as they become available.
