HALDIMAND—Ontario is expected to head to the polls next month after Premier Doug Ford announced his intentions to hold a snap election at a press conference on Friday, January 24, 2025. Due to election regulations, Ford was set to officially call the election on Wednesday, January 28 after publication, with an expected election date of February 27.
Speaking to reporters last Friday, Ford laid out his reasoning for the election.
“We need a mandate from the people to fight against Donald Trump’s tariffs, the attack he’s coming against our families, our businesses, our communities. With a strong mandate, we will be able to fight with Donald Trump to make sure we stop the tariffs and to make sure we give certainty to the people of Ontario,” said Ford. “It may take investing tens of billions of dollars; we’ll do tens of billions of dollars. It’s no different than during the pandemic. We’ll make sure we secure people’s livelihoods, and I will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Ontario in turn because we’re the engine of Canada, protecting all Canadians. We will not back down.”
He continued, “There’s a lack of leadership at the federal level. We don’t know who’s going to be the next Prime Minister. Right now, we need strong leadership in this country, we need strong leadership in this province, and we’re going to deliver that leadership to the people of Ontario.”
As of publication, only two candidates had officially been announced in the Haldimand-Norfolk riding: incumbent independent Bobbi Ann Brady and current Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin, who is running for the Conservative Party.
Brady took to social media, posting a video following Ford’s announcement in which she called his reasoning “disingenuous.”
“Doug Ford has in play at Queen’s Park right now a super majority government until June 2026. That is the clear mandate. Why is Doug Ford going to the polls early? I think for two reasons: he’s afraid of the federal election and, two, he’s afraid of the results of the RCMP investigation into the Greenbelt scandal. An election is not needed,” said Brady in her post.
Peter Black, Vice President of the Haldimand Norfolk Liberal Party Association, said the hunt continues for a candidate to run in the riding. He noted that a prospective candidate who was undergoing the vetting process had to pull out after the snap election was called as they could not secure the needed time off work to run on such short notice.
He echoed Brady’s sentiments, expressing disappointment with “the Ford government’s snap election call with the writ dropping this week and short voting period…. Ford already has a mandate, so the calling of a quick election is highly suspect and self-serving. There are still a lot of Liberal voters in Haldimand-Norfolk that support the party of balance and stability.”
Black added, jokingly, “On the positive side, maybe some inventive entrepreneur will invent a lawn sign that easily installs in frozen ground.”
Similarly, Green Party rep Noah Gardner and Haldimand-Norfolk NDP Riding Association President Jordan Louis informed The Press that they are working with some potential candidates but are not yet ready to confirm a name.
“For seven years, Doug Ford and his Conservatives have put the interests of his well-connected friends ahead of working people. Ford hasn’t delivered: housing costs are out of control, schools are crumbling, hospitals are overcrowded,” said Louis. “Now, as we face the tariff threat, Ford is putting his own interests first again by calling an early election. We believe that Ford is in it for himself, not Ontarians, and that he is desperate to salvage his prospects as conservatives nation-wide are being dragged down in the polls by the spectre of Trump in the US.”
The Haldimand Press will be hosting an all-candidates debate on Wednesday, February 12 at the Caledonia Lions Community Centre at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) for residents to attend in-person or to view online.
Stay tuned for candidate profiles in upcoming editions.
