Green Party nominee Joel Loughead says he is the only candidate on the ballot in this election who is free to represent the residents of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound at Queen's Park.
Loughead is running in his second provincial election, but his first representing the Green Party. In the 2022 election he ran for the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party.
In an interview with CollingwoodToday, Loughead said the Liberal and NDP parties focus on large urban areas and not rural Ontario and do not have much of a presence in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. He also dismissed the Progressive Conservatives claims to be the party of rural Ontario saying their policies have been “a disaster” for rural areas
“If you want an actual MPP, in that you have a member of provincial parliament who represents you in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, you have exactly one option and that’s me and the Green Party of Ontario,” said Loughead. “Not only are we permitted to vote independently at Queen’s Park, we are encouraged to vote independently at Queen’s Park, because that’s our job.”
Loughead is a municipal councillor in the Municipality of Grey Highlands. He felt compelled to enter local politics in order to safeguard his community’s greenspaces, sensitive watersheds, and world-class farmland from increasing development pressures. He said he has been at the council table the past three years “making big decisions” and his environmental voting record stands for itself.
“I have had to stand up and defend good environmental practices at our council table,” he said, pointing to his record of voting against “over development” of Beaver Valley, to protect the Rocky Saugeen River and against luxury homes being built on prime agricultural land.
“I know this riding very well. I’ve been all over this riding to meet people,” he said. “I am going to genuinely listen. I’m going to come to your meetings. I’m going to be open and available to anybody and everybody in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, who wants their voice at Queen’s Park, who wants me to fight for rural Ontario and this riding.”
In his free time, you can Loughead fishing, paddling, rock climbing, or skiing in the Niagara Escarpment lands surrounding his Beaver Valley home.
He said being an elected councillor has given him the opportunity to meet people from across the riding and he has paid careful attention to their stories and concerns.
“I’ve met people from all over this riding and I’ve listened to people and I know what they want,” he said. “And what they want is to be treated fairly. What they want is what we deserve, which is reinvestment in our small towns, investment in our small hospitals, emergency rooms to be open 24/7, as you reasonably expect, and genuine affordable housing.”
Loughead holds degrees in both philosophy and English from the University of Toronto. Before his election to Grey Highlands council, he was a full-time wine and cider maker, using ingredients grown in Grey and Bruce Counties.
Joel lives in the historic village of Kimberley with his wife Frances, and their young son Calvin.