Incumbent MP set to face off against familiar name in Barrie riding

Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley in the House of Commons.

The incumbent MP in one of Barrie’s two ridings will be going up against a name many people may recognize from a recent ballot.

CTV News has learned that Dr. Rose Zacharias will be the Liberal candidate in the riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte. Zacharias just recently ran in the same riding in the provincial election.

Zacharias, a past president of the Ontario Medical Association, finished in second place in the recent race for a seat at Queen’s Park. She commanded about 35.7 per cent of the vote, falling short to incumbent Doug Downey who finished with 49.8 per cent of the vote.

As a leading voice in provincial health care, Zacharias ran her last campaign largely focussed on addressing a doctor shortage.

In this race she’ll be looking to unseat two-time MP Doug Shipley, who has held the riding since 2019. Before his venture into politics at the federal level, Shipley served as a city councillor in Barrie.

Shipley entered the political world after a successful career as a small business owner. During his time in Ottawa he has served on various committees including the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. He has also served ad a deputy shadow minister of housing and diversity and inclusion.

The riding’s boundaries have shifted slightly since the last election. It now includes the community of Hawkestone. Previously, the riding only represented approximately half of the Township of Oro-Medonte. Now that full community is included in the new boundaries, according to Shipley.

No NDP candidate has been posted online while the most recent candidate listed online for the Green Party of Canada is Eric Loewen.

Election day is April 28.