2022 Simcoe-Grey candidates return to the ballot
Three of the four main political parties in Ontario have selected candidates for the Simcoe-Grey riding in preparation for the Feb. 27 election triggered by Premier Doug Ford 15 months early.
While ahead in the polls, Ford said he needed a strong mandate at a time when the province and country are entering a period of unprecedented economic uncertainty and lengthy negotiations.
According to the Ontario PCs, “Ford has said he needs a new mandate from the people in case he needs to spend billions of dollars to prop up Ontario’s economy if tariffs are imposed. To protect Ontario, including during the fast-approaching renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Doug Ford needs a strong, four-year mandate from the people that outlives and outlasts the Trump administration.”
For the most part, this month’s ballot will look very similar to the one in 2022.
Incumbent MPP Brian Saunderson will stand for the Progressive Conservatives. He won the seat in the last election, after long-time representative Jim Wilson stepped aside.
Saunderson had served in municipal politics since 2014 and was elected as the Mayor of Collingwood in 2018. Prior to being elected, Saunderson practiced law for 22 years, and had an office in Stayner. He also taught business law ethics at Georgian College in Barrie.
Saunderson was a member of the Canadian National Rowing Team and competed at two Olympic Games, and three World Championships, winning a silver medal in 1990 as a member of the Men’s Eight.
Ted Crysler will once again represent the Ontario Liberal Party. Crysler was born and raised in Collingwood, and spent summers in Wasaga Beach.
After graduating from Collingwood Collegiate Institute, Crysler went on to study political science and history, and completed a Masters degree in International Affairs at University of Ottawa before attending law school at University of Toronto. He was called to the bar in 1996 and has since practiced technology and corporate/ commercial law. After 14 years with Rogers Communications, he started his own Toronto practice.
He is the chair of the Wasaga Beach Climate Action Advisory Committee, and a board member for the Wasaga Beach Climate Action Team, which advances collaboration with the community and the town to act on climate issues. He is also a board member of the Museum Board for Collingwood. Ted has been a member at First Presbyterian Church in Collingwood and St. Andrew’s Church in Toronto.
Allan Kuhn will be on the ballot again for the Green Party of Ontario. Kuhn is a social farmer with a certificate in Organic Agriculture Management. He works for a local non-profit on a five-acre biodynamic/ organic market garden that employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The community sells its products at farmers’ markets in Angus and Barrie.
Originally from Guelph, Kuhn has lived in Angus for more than 17 years. The local NDP riding association has yet to find a local candidate.
