Ontarians will be casting a ballot on June 2, and in the riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane, several candidates are gunning for incumbent John Vanthof of the NDP. In 2018, Vanthof ran away with 16,806 of the 27,461 votes cast in the riding for an easy victory. Well behind in second place was Progressive Conservative (PCP) candidate Margaret Williams. Liberal candidate Brian A. Johnson, who was a no-show at debates and could not be reached throughout the campaign, earned 2,476 votes.
Green Party candidate Casey Lalonde took just 723 votes. The Greens have a higher profile locally this time around, with West Nipissing candidate Kristopher Rivard gaining traction and his party leader, Mike Schreiner, making two stops in the community – the only provincial leader to visit West Nipissing so far this campaign.
The leaders did address Northern Ontario issues at a debate in North Bay on March 10. The Timiskaming-Cochrane candidates will have a chance to address local voters March 26, at a debate hosted by the WN Chamber of Commerce in Sturgeon Falls. So far, however, new PCP candidate Bill Foy and repeat Liberal candidate Brian A. Johnson have not confirmed they will participate.
The Tribune reached out to the candidates to learn about their priorities and plans for the riding. You can learn more about each of them by following the links below.
