May 26, 2022 • Volume 36, No. 27
Next edition June 2
L’édition de cette semaine à l’intérieur...
Time to cast your ote By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star
Elizabeth Vroom emerges from the water jump on her way to setting a new meet record in the Open Girls Steeplechase at the National Capital high school track and field championships last week. See story page 17.
Ontario voters will be heading to the polls next Thursday to cast their ballot in the June 2 provincial election. The most recent polls show a strong indication that Doug Ford’s Conservative government will hold on to power for a second straight term but with fewer seats than they held previously. The Conservatives could lose as many as a half dozen seats in ridings that were previously held by the Liberals. The Liberals are expected to gain as many as 20 seats, mostly at the expense of the NDP whose status in the polls has been on the decline since the leadership debate. Heading into the election, the Conservatives held 76 seats, the NDP 40 seats, the Liberals seven seats and the Green Party one seat. Whether or not the Liberals will be able to leapfrog the NDP and regain official opposition status is one of the things to watch for next
Thursday night. One seat the Liberals won’t have to worry about is here in Orléans where incumbent Stephen Blais is expected to win quite handily. Blais was first elected to Queen’s Park in a by-election in 2020 when he was able to capture more than 55 per cent of the vote running against local Conservative candidate Natalie Montgomery. His main opponent this time around is Melissa Felián, who was parachuted into the riding by the Conservative Party from Markham when a local candidate couldn’t be found. The NDP are pinning their hopes on lifelong Orléans resident and labour activist Gabe Bourdon, while the Green Party has long-time party organizer and Orléans resident Michelle Petersen as their candidate. Other names on the ballot include New Blue candidate Liam Randall, Libertarian Ken Lewis and Ontario Party candidate Vince Clements.