Doug Ford called for an early provincial election set on Feb. 27 — only three weeks away — and three parties in NOTL’s riding have confirmed a candidate.
The Green Party website has listed Celia Taylor as candidate for the Niagara Falls riding.
According to her “about” page, Taylor, a legal expert, is dedicated to safeguarding Niagara’s waterways, agricultural lands and green spaces.
The Lake Report reached out to Karen Fraser, chair of the Niagara Falls riding, for comment, before confirming Taylor was selected.
As of Wednesday morning, Fraser was left wondering whether a candidate had been selected.
“I’m chair of the riding, but I’ve called head office twice to see if they’ve got a candidate for us and they haven’t gotten back to me,” Fraser said in an interview.
“They don’t broadcast it until they are accepted,” she said.
Fraser, a member of the Green Party since 2005, has run as a candidate multiple times and was prepared to do it again, she said.
“I know what it’s like at head office during election time. Everyone is on the run. They just haven’t gotten back to me,” Fraser said.
Fraser herself does not agree with the call of an early election, she said.
“I think it’s very self-serving for Ford,” she said.
With such short notice, Fraser said the Niagara Falls riding feels unprepared.
“I myself am a senior, I’m handicapped, so having to go out and get signatures in this weather is too much for me,” she said.
Fraser said the lack of funding and unlikelihood of an election win may have affected the search for a candidate to some degree, but believes those who choose to run do it because they are passionate about their beliefs.
“We all know most Greens run by their heart. Anybody who wants to do anything for the Green Party it’s because they totally believe in the environment and the six categories of our platform,” she said.
“I’ve run maybe five or six times and I know I don’t have the money, I know it takes money to run, but I’m there because I care,” Fraser said.
The difference between the Greens and the Liberals is that level of funding, Fraser said.
“Maybe the Liberals aren’t ready either, but they’re more corporate,” she said.
Fraser could not be reached before deadline to comment on Taylor’s candidacy.
As for the Liberals, last week Kenneth Gansel, a NOTL resident and president of the Niagara Falls Liberal Association, told The Lake Report the party was struggling to find someone to run.
The Ontario Liberal Party in Toronto will work to find a candidate for Niagara Falls, Gansel said last week.
As of Wednesday morning, some progress had been made.
“There’s someone in mind, but until they’re confirmed by Toronto I’m not making any comment whatsoever,” Gansel said.
By Friday, the Liberals should have a candidate announcement ready, he said.
The New Democrats selected incumbent Wayne Gates and the Progressive Conservatives chose Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg, a Niagara Falls councillor and funeral home operator.
