An all-candidates’ debate will be held in Huntsville at the Algonquin Theatre on Wednesday, September 30. Reception is at 6 p.m. and the forum takes place from 7 to 9 p.m.
There will be another opportunity to listen to your candidates on October 5, starting at 7 p.m. at the Dwight Community Centre.
[ratings]Canadians will head to the polls on Monday, October 19, 2015, to elect their next government.
Here’s who is running in your riding of Parry Sound – Muskoka:
Incumbent MP Tony Clement – PC
Tony Clement has represented the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka as their Member of Parliament since 2006.
On May 2, 2011, Clement was re-elected for a third consecutive time. Shortly after his re-election, he was appointed by the Prime Minister to take on the responsibilities of President of the Treasury Board. In this capacity, Clement led the development and implementation of a cross-government spending review – looking at transformational ways to support and deliver services to taxpayers in the most effective and efficient means possible.
“This follows through on the Government’s commitment to Canadians to eliminate the deficit and continue to strengthen the economy,” according to Clement’s 2015 campaign information. “Clement has previously served on the front benches as both Minister of Health and Minister of Industry, playing a lead role in getting Canada’s economy back on track after the most significant global economic recession since the 1930s.”
Trisha Cowie – Liberal
Trisha Cowie is one of six children. Her father, after a long career in law enforcement as a park ranger, regional police officer, OPP and RCMP officer, earned his law degree, and is now a professor. Her mother has a business marketing diploma and became a successful artist, after serving as the glue that held the family together as they lived in different parts of Canada.
Cowie is proud of her Irish heritage and her membership in the Hiawatha First Nation, and has a keen interest in advancing aboriginal legal issues.
She lives in Muskoka with her son Ronan and spent many summers vacationing in Muskoka in her youth, and then working here during her teenage years, before attending the University of Toronto where she earned an Honours BA in Political Science and Aboriginal Studies. She then went on to complete a diploma in Emergency Management at Sir Sandford Fleming College, and then graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a law degree (Juris Doctor).
Cowie is a social activist whose desire to assist marginalized groups extends beyond aboriginal peoples. During her university days, she volunteered with the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews through a
program called the March of Remembrance and Hope, and while at law school was involved in the Pro Bono Club, worked on the Diversity Committee, chaired the Aboriginal Law Club, and worked with UWO Community Legal Services providing legal assistance to low income families. She articled at Nahewgahbow Corbiere law firm before being called to the bar in June 2012 and opened her own law firm in Bala, Ontario, in January 2013 – a general practice focused primarily on real estate, family and criminal law, which has offered her the experience of running her own business and meeting a weekly payroll, while also assisting low income families and advocating for legal aid clients in criminal and family law matters.
Cowie gives back to her community as a board member with the YWCA of Muskoka, which offers invaluable programs such as Girlz Unplugged, Quest, and Enterprising Women. She is also a board member with the Muskoka Lakes Soccer Club, which not only offers local families an affordable and fun recreational activity but also donates much-needed funds to local schools for educational purposes. She also enjoys volunteering on an occasional basis with other local organizations such as the Bala Cranberry Festival and the Port Carling Skating Club.
Glen Hodgson – Green
Glen Hodgson has been actively engaged in the Muskoka-Parry Sound riding for almost twenty years. His family roots in the area run back several generations and he has been spending summers at his family’s cottage in Burks Falls all of his life before moving to the area full time.
A graduate of both Trent and Queens, Hodgson has a degree in English and environmental studies as well as a bachelor of education. He has taught high school since 1996 and currently works as a District President with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
Hodgson first ran for the Green Party in 1997 under the guidance of the respected leader and community activist, Richard Thomas. He has remained a committed member of both the Green Party of Canada and the Green Party of Ontario and has served both organizations in many capacities gaining valuable experience and insight into the political system.
Glen believes in the Green Party and says he feels strongly that “our country needs solid leadership and bold action on a number of issues led by the need for immediate action to address climate change and only the Greens offer this to Canadians.”
Hodgson is currently the Chair of the West Parry Sound District Museum and the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve, founder of an independent film club and a regular columnist in several publications. He is the current chair of the Ontario Teachers Federation Human Rights Committee.
In his spare time, Hodgson is a beekeeper, hockey player, coach and long-time Ultimate Frisbee player. He has travelled extensively throughout Canada and the world and regularly presents on issues related to food and food security.
He currently lives off grid in a straw bale house with his partner Kristy, their two children and their Nova Scotia Duck Toller, Willow.
Matthew McCarthy – NDP
Matt McCarthy was born in Toronto and raised in the heart of the Kawarthas, in Peterborough. The McCarthys would go to Quinn Lake, near Dunchurch, in the summers while Matt was growing up.
In 2014, McCarthy moved to Muskoka to live in Bracebridge as his partner completed her training there to become a midwife.
Having taken French immersion throughout school and growing up in a politically active family, McCarthy studied political science in both official languages at the University of Ottawa, graduating in 2010. For the last five years, McCarthy has put his bilingualism and political/economic understanding to work as a translator for some of the largest investment companies and banks in France and Canada. At the same time, McCarthy earned a BA in Translation, a Certificate in Technical and Professional Communication, and certification as a translator. He also makes time to volunteer through Translators without Borders.
McCarthy’s political life began in his childhood, when his mother brought him and his twin brother along to the Ontario legislature in Toronto to protest sweeping changes being made by the Ontario government. Helen McCarthy taught her sons that if you disagree with the government, you need get out and do something about it. Today, she is a school board trustee in Peterborough and Matt credits her and his eldest brother for encouraging him to get involved in grassroots politics at 14 years of age, 14 years ago.
Since then, McCarthy has consistently worked and/or volunteered for the surrounding community, from representing students on the Faculty Council of York University’s Glendon College, to teaching children to read as a Literacy Facilitator at the library , to representing Northern youth at the Ontario New Democratic Youth and representing youth on the NDP’s Northern Ontario Area Council. Locally, McCarthy has volunteered for the Bracebridge Public Library and for community events such as Muskoka Sound and Session Muskoka. An avid runner, McCarthy plans to run in his second Run for a Way half-marathon and the CIBC’s Run for the Cure in October.
So why the NDP? As a twin brother, McCarthy says he grew up always having someone there. At school, at home, at sports – he always had someone’s back and vice versa. McCarthy always feels a need to consider the person or people around him. Growing up as a twin means constant reminders that life is shared. This world view fits very well with the New Democrat ideals on many issues, he says, “from bringing balance to our relationship with the planet, to respecting a nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and First Nations, to protecting our rights and freedoms, and ensuring that everyone has a fair shot at fulfilling their dreams.”
Driven by his passion for bringing out the best in politics and his commitment to serve, McCarthy says he is stepping up to lead the change that Parry Sound — Muskoka needs in Ottawa.
Albert Gray Smith – Marxist Leninist Party
Albert Gray Smith is an artist and an illustrator who has lived part-time in the Parry Sound area for over 25 years. He is running as a Parry Sound – Muskoka candidate for the Marxist Leninist Party because he says he feels the Party’s program best articulates the course of action that will lead to the real empowerment of the Canadian people. He says the call to build citizens’ committees for ‘Democratic Renewal’ is a simple, yet profound response to the marginalization of the whole population by the parties of the financial elites. These parties, rather than engaging workers, youth, women, elders, and others in serious political debate and action, have reduced electoral politics to scare tactics, name calling, and a choice between the lesser of evils.
As an artist, his experience has been that politics is a matter of taking a stand for what is just and mobilizing others to get involved. “Many of us participated in the Ontario Federation of Labour Days of Action, protesting the Harris Government and its anti-social offensive. As artists we created street art for the mass demonstrations. We participated along with workers, students, teachers and others at the G20 protests in Toronto and at the Idle No More demonstrations. We consider our work to be an integral part of the lives of the workers, women, elders, and youth of our communities.”
He says the current Conservative government has proven disastrous to the Canadian economy. “The reliance on the export of raw materials, especially oil from the tar sands, sold at inflated world prices, has made this segment of the economy extremely vulnerable. The collapse of the oil prices has dealt the economies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland a heavy blow. At the same time the Harper government has sat by and watched the manufacturing sector in Ontario and Quebec move industrial production and good jobs overseas. The Harper government must be defeated! This will require hard work, critical thinking and cooperation.”
Smith said he is appealing to all progressive people in Parry Sound and Muskoka, in particular those working for better health care outcomes, more affordable housing, social justice for First Nations communities, and improved facilities for education and the arts, to join in the work to build citizens’ committees. “A good beginning is to get together in our own community organizations to plan responses to various challenges. I look forward to meeting the voters of Parry Sound – Muskoka and discussing these issues,” he said.
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