The final two candidates for this year’s provincial election in Kenora and Kiiwetinoong have been announced, with the Conservative government looking for re-election, the NDP looking to retain seats in Kiiwetinoong and Thunder Bay and the Liberals looking to make up ground after the last election.
In the Kenora riding, Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Greg Rickford, is once again running for re-election. He’s running for his second provincial term, after previously serving as a federal minister, lawyer and nurse.
Running against Rickford will be JoAnne Formanek Gustafson of the NDP, Anthony Leek of the Liberals, Catherine Kiewning of the Green Party, Kelvin Boucher-Chicago with the New Blue’s and Richard Jonasson of the Consensus Party.
In the Kiiwetinoong riding, the largest provincial riding in Ontario that was established in 2018, the NDP’s Treaty Relations and Reconciliation Critic, Sol Mamakwa, is seeking his second term.
The former Sioux Lookout First Nations Authority executive will be joined by Pickle Lake Mayor Dwight Monck of the Progressive Conservatives, Manuela Michelizzi of the Liberal party, Suzette Foster of the Greens and Alex Dornn of the New Blue party.
In the provincial race, incumbent leader Doug Ford of the Ontario Conservatives will be defending his seat against Steven Del Duca of the Liberal party, Andrea Horwath of the NDP, Mike Schreiner with the Greens, Brad Harness with the Consensus Party and Jim Karahalios with the New Blue Party.
This year’s provincial election is set for June 2, with advance voting scheduled for May 19 and 28.
Residents will need to bring one piece of ID with their name and address with them. 2018’s provincial election saw the highest voter turnout since 2003, with 58 per cent of Ontario residents casting their ballot.