Incumbent MPP, former mayor and PC candidate Brian Saunderson is looking for a return trip to Queen's Park in his second provincial election campaign.
Saunderson is returning to the ballot on Feb. 27 along with Ted Crysler for the Liberals, Allan Kuhn for the Greens and Benten Tinkler for NDP.
Since first taking the Simcoe-Grey seat in 2022, Saunderson said part of his work has been to get the government to see the value of Simcoe-Grey for the province.
“I think Queen’s Park, under the Ford government, has really understood what a critical linchpin this area is. We are a release valve for the GTA (Greater Toronto Area),” said Saunderson in an interview. “The centre of gravity for politics for many years has been the GTA, and now I think we're seeing that shift.”
Born in Toronto, Saunderson’s family bought an old school house on 10th Concession in Nottawa, which is now part of Clearview, when he was five years old.
“Since then, this area and region have been a big part of my life,” said Saunderson, noting he and his wife Susie were married on the property’s baseball diamond in 1990.
As a former national team rower who competed in two Olympic Games in 1988 and 1992, Saunderson met his wife while training in London, where she was a student at Western University and a varsity cross-country skier.
In 2001, Saunderson was working in Ottawa at a law firm, and he and Susie decided they wanted to move to a more rural community.
“(Collingwood) was our first choice and it was the best decision we ever made,” he said.
Saunderson’s three sons, Dylan, Maxwell and Cole, were seven, five and three years old respectively when the Saundersons made the move. It led to Saunderson becoming involved in minor hockey locally.
He volunteered as a board member with E3 Community Services for 12 years, and was involved in the Collingwood YMCA’s capital campaign.
When he came to Collingwood, Saunderson joined Christie Cummings specializing primarily in litigation and worked there right up until he stepped away from practising law in 2019. Saunderson has taught business law and ethics and Georgian College.
As a rower, he got involved early on with the Collingwood Dragonboat Canoe Club, which eventually became the Collingwood Paddling Club of which he was a founding director.
“It fell together very nicely for us and it's a wonderful community. It's a beautiful region and it really fit,” he said.
Saunderson comes from a long line of politicians, with his great-great grandfather immigrating to Canada from Ireland and becoming an alderman in Toronto. His grandfather’s sister worked at Queen’s Park for the ministry of education. His father Bill Saunderson was also a Progressive Conservative MPP, serving one term from 1995-99 under the Mike Harris government as the minister of economic development, trade and tourism.
“Politics was not really something that I envisioned myself getting into, but (I was interested in) civic involvement and volunteering,” he said. “Through getting involved, I backed into politics.”
He was drawn into local politics when he watched Collingwood council make a decision more than a decade ago not to continue pursuing a multi-use recreation facility at Central Park and instead building two fabric membrane structures for the Central Park Arena and the Centennial Aquatic Centre.
“That made me question the politics at town hall,” he recalls. “Ever since then I've been edging my way, more and more into politics.”
Saunderson ran for deputy mayor of the town in 2014 and won, and parlayed that into a run for mayor, winning in 2018. He served as mayor of Collingwood until 2022, when he gave up his seat that year for his first provincial run, which he also won.
Under his leadership as mayor, Collingwood navigated the implementation of an temporary development freeze and bylaw to limit new development based on water capacity, the judicial inquiry into the sale of COLLUS and purchase of the fabric membrane buildings, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think the council of the day did a marvellous job and I'm proud of my role in that in navigating that,” he said.
He has served as Simcoe-Grey MPP under the Progressive Conservative banner since 2022 after stepping down as mayor.
“When you rise into provincial or party politics...you have to find the party that you're most comfortable with,” said Saunderson. “The Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario is my fit. It's about fiscal responsibility.”
“It's about collaborating with our municipalities to make sure we are maximizing tax dollars,” he said.
When asked what Simcoe-Grey needs from a provincial government, Saunderson said that over the past two years, he’s worked hard to get the government to understand the importance of Simcoe-Grey, which has led to multiple major funding announcements over those two years.
Examples Saunderson lists include multiple infrastructure grants totalling $130 million going straight to municipalities including Wasaga Beach, Town of the Blue Mountains and Clearview, $70 million for Collingwood’s water treatment plant expansion and $95 million for planning a new Collingwood General and Marine Hospital build on Poplar Side Road.
Other Simcoe-Grey announcements include $14 million for early works for Stevenson Memorial Hospital’s expansion which will triple the size of their emergency department and multiple new school announcements: two high schools in Wasaga Beach, two elementary schools in Angus, a renewal of Banting Memorial High School in Allison and two school additions in the south end of the riding.
“I wouldn't want to claim responsibility for the $600 million of investment we're getting from the province, but certainly I've been very much a part of that process,” said Saunderson. “I think it's a reflection of the government understanding the critical importance of rural communities.”
“There is life north of Highway 9 and it's very important.”