Canadians across the country will go to the polls on September 20th for the second federal election in less than two years, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Governor General Mary Simon today to dissolve the current government.
Locally, there are four women on the ballot representing the four major parties, including MP Maryam Monsef, who is seeking a third term in office. Monsef says a lot has changed since the last election in 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and now recovery, which is one of the reasons another was called so early.
Monsef also holds a number of roles within Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, including Minister of Women and General Equality and Minister of Rural Economic Development.
For the Erin O’Toole-led Conservative Party of Canada, which achieved 121 seats in 2019, Michelle Ferreri will be the local candidate. She says that mental health and economic recovery are two of the biggest issues her party is focusing on just over a month until Canadians fill out their ballots.
Joy Lachica will represent Jagmeet Singh’s NDP in Peterborough-Kawartha this time around. The former educator says there’s a number of issues that need to be dealt with, including climate change.
In 2019, the NDP won 24 seats, placing fourth behind the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois.
In fifth was the Green Party of Canada, which has a new leader this time around in Annamie Paul, as well as a new local representative in Chanté White. White says the Green Party has always had a large focus on the environment as well, but is aware that’s not the only thing that needs attention in the upcoming election.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government won a re-election in October 2019 with 157 seats, resulting in a minority government after holding a majority the four years prior. Trudeau is numerous questions about the timing of the vote, but he and the Liberals maintain that the minority Parliament had become toxic and dysfunctional. They say Canadians should also have an opportunity to weigh in on how best to move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic.
PTBOToday.ca will be featuring each local candidate individually throughout the campaign leading up to the election.
