Premier Doug Ford has revealed when three provincial byelections will take place.
Residents in Scarborough Southwest, York-Simcoe, and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek will head to the polls on September 3.
In a closely watched race for the Liberal nomination last May, businessman Ahsanul Hafiz won against former MP Nate Erskine-Smith by just 19 votes.
Erskine-Smith, who previously represented the nearby federal riding of Beaches-East York, aimed to secure a provincial seat in order to position himself for a potential run at Ontario Liberal leadership. However, he has since changed his plans.
Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser acknowledged that the party is facing a tough challenge in Scarborough Southwest.
“It’s a lot of work for us,” he mentioned last month. “It’s like starting from scratch. Our candidate (Ahsanul) Hafiz has been out there working hard, knocking on doors, and lots of Liberals have been out.”
The Ontario PCs have selected Dr. Noor Tarun as their candidate, while Fatima Shaban aims to retain the seat for the NDP. The Green Party has nominated Mark Bekkering as their representative.
A byelection became necessary after Doly Begum left her position representing the NDP since 2018 to run as a Liberal candidate in the same federal riding. In that election, she defeated Shaban.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles visited the area earlier Wednesday and noted that there are already thousands of signs up supporting their candidate.
“Byelections are not won on television,” she stated. “Byelections are won on the doorsteps, so we are going to be working very hard to hold Scarborough Southwest with our amazing candidate Fatima Shaban, who’s a relentless fighter for our community.”
The Conservatives hope to maintain their seats vacated by Caroline Mulroney in York-Simcoe and Neil Lumsden in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.
Jeff Beattie is set as the PC candidate in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek while Pascale Marchand represents the Green Party. The Liberals have chosen Heino Doessing-who ran against Lumsden in the previous provincial election-as their candidate. Although traditionally strong in Hamilton, NDP candidates face increased competition from Progressive Conservatives who have made gains recently with Monique Taylor stepping up as their byelection contender; she previously served 14 years representing Hamilton Mountain for the NDP.
Susan Lahey will represent the PCs in York-Simcoe while Naomi Davison is running for the Liberals as a York Region councillor. The Liberal nominee is businessman Matt Pearce while Bobby Nikmard from education is put forward by the NDP. The Tories are expected to hold this riding easily; Mulroney and her predecessor Julia Munro have won here by large margins across many elections.
The upcoming byelections might serve as an important test for Ford’s government given its declining popularity over recent months.
An Angus Reid poll from June indicated Ford’s approval rating among voters hit its lowest level since he first took office in 2018; meanwhile, another poll from Liaison Strategies showed a slight lead for Liberals over Conservatives.
Early voting will take place from August 26 through August 28.
Files from The Canadian Press were utilized in this report
A voter is shown dropping their marked ballot into the ballot box. THE CANADIAN PRESS Keep it Factual
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