Provincial election day is Feb. 27 and if you’re still not sure who you’re voting for in Simcoe-Grey, here’s some information to help you make your decision.
Simcoe-Grey has five candidates in the running for the provincial seat: incumbent Brian Saunderson for the Progressive Conservatives, Ted Crysler for the Liberals, Allan Kuhn for the Greens, Benten Tinkler for the NDP and David Ghobrial for the New Blue Party.
Saunderson is running for re-election having been elected MPP in 2022, following a shortened term as mayor of Collingwood, which he left to run for the provincial seat. Saunderson won the 2022 election with 51.2 per cent of the votes in the riding.
Crysler, a Collingwood-based lawyer and tech entrepreneur is running again for the Ontario Liberal Party. Crysler ran in his first election in 2022, but said politics has been a lifelong interest for him. Crysler won 22.1 per cent of the Simcoe-Grey votes in the 2022 election.
Kuhn, who won nine per cent of the 2022 votes for Simcoe-Grey, will also return to the ballot. An Angus resident, Kuhn has spent his career in social farming and working in the non-profit sector to help adults with developmental disabilities develop gardening skills.
New to the Simcoe-Grey ballot is New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Benten Tinkler. Tinkler refused an interview with CollingwoodToday through an Ontario NDP media relations officer, and wouldn’t provide a photo. The Simcoe-Grey NDP riding association also didn’t return requests for comment.
David Ghobrial is a physician and the clinic director for the Beeton walk-in clinic. He is running for the New Blue Party of Ontario, a party with no seats in the province that started following COVID-19 mandates in response to what the party says is "establishment political parties ... entrenched in radical left-wing ideology." Ghobrial was also on the ballot for the New Blue Party in the 2022 election and won a little over 2,000 votes.
We asked the four main party candidates about issues that matter to Simcoe-Grey residents in a series of articles.
To read what they said about the doctor shortage, click here.
To read what they said about housing, click here.
To read what they said about affordability, click here.
To read what they said about curbing violence in schools, click here.
Advance voting closed Feb. 22. Voters should have received a voter information card in the mail, however if not, you can still cast your ballot in-person with identification that includes your name and address. Assistive voting is available at your local election office by appointment.
To find your voting location, click here.