Residents called Premier Doug Ford’s decision to hold a snap election unnecessary as they left NOTL’s advanced polling station Feb. 22.
Interviews at the NOTL Community Centre indicated voters have mixed opinions about Ford’s framing of the election as a mandate to counter Trump’s tariff threats and hyperlocal concerns around health care, grocery costs and inflation.
“It seems more like a power grab — I don’t think it will really do anything for anyone but Ford,” said retiree Margaret Ellis.
Ellis said her intention to vote for NDP incumbent Wayne Gates was done out of support for democracy rather than an expectation of significant change.
Ellis supports several points in Gates’ election platform, such as reducing gas and grocery costs and putting money in the hands of workers.
“We have so many young workers who I know who’ve been really struggling … if there’s one thing no one needs, it’s tax cuts for wealthy people.”
Shinaya Patel said while she doesn’t feel the snap election was necessary, everyone in Canada should take advantage of it to pick the best candidate “otherwise, we’d be just as bad as the U.S.”
Patel’s priorities in this election are improving NOTL’s access to health care, lowering grocery costs and resisting American threats to Canada’s sovereignty.
“Who is Trump to dictate, or have any control over Canada’s politics? I never thought I’d see this much talk of U.S. politics in Canada,” said Patel.
Most provincial candidates have criticized U.S. trade policies with Canada and have pushed residents to support local businesses to prevent knock-on inflationary effects.
“Let me be very clear: Trump’s trade war is no joke. It’s an attack on working people, and border communities like ours are feeling the impact more than anywhere else,” said Gates.
Progressive Conservative candidate Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg has endorsed Ford’s platform on combating tariffs but has said relatively little regarding Trump. She was unavailable to comment in response to a request from The Lake Report.
Retiree Michael Karagiannis voted for Nieuwesteeg on Saturday and voiced his perspective on U.S. trade policies.
“Trump is an extreme in every way, but he’s still doing the right thing.”
Karagiannis said his biggest concerns during this election are reducing inflation and the cost of grocery prices. He also supported Nieuwesteeg’s proposal to eliminate Niagara’s two-tiered municipal councils.
Nieuwesteeg has called Niagara’s two-tiered municipal governance model “too costly.”
When the snap election was announced on Jan. 27, Gates called it “unnecessary and expensive.” Elections Ontario announced the budget for the election will be $189 million.
Polls open on Thursday, Feb. 27.
