Five candidates looking to succeed Anthony Rota as MP in Nipissing-Timiskaming

The riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming got a lot bigger in 2023, spreading north to include Englehart, Evanturel, Charlton-Dack, Chamberlain and Elk Lake.

Retiring Liberal MP Anthony Rota has held onto the seat six times out of seven elections since 2006. In the April 28 federal election, there are five candidates seeking to win the seat.

Liberal Party candidate Pauline Rochefort is currently in her second term as mayor of East Ferris.

When she goes door-to-door talking with voters, Rochefort said she’s hearing about the chaos and uncertainty unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their impact on Canadian workers.

“Certainly, it’s a matter of leadership and that’s what people are comparing -- the style of leadership,” she said.

“It’s about a vision for Canada and how basically we are going to stand up to the United States … There’s a lot of support for (Liberal Leader) Mark Carney. So, they see in Mark Carney an individual who would be standing up to Donald Trump.”

Rochefort said the Liberals are best poised to protect local mining supply companies and farmers from the unpredictable U.S. administration.

“Housing is also a big issue,” she said.

“Cost of living, certainly, is big and with the seniors, they’re concerned about losing benefits … They want to make sure that there’s a government that’s going to protect benefits.”

Conservative candidate Garry Keller was once chief of staff to Canada’s former foreign affairs minister and chief parliamentary adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Keller is promising to support a plan to reduce taxes and put more money into people’s pockets.

“Whether it’s a 15 per cent tax cut for middle to lower-income Canadians, whether it’s a range of other tax initiatives letting seniors keep more of their money if they earn it in their post-65 years or they’re keeping more money in their RSP longer to earn more,” Keller said.

“Those are the types of real impacts that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party are promising and that I’m proud to represent.”

Keller said a Conservative government would remove the GST on new homes being built. He said there has been a lot of positive engagement from people going door-to-door who are ready to vote.

“There are a lot of undecided voters out there who are looking to make a change. Obviously, there’s no incumbent in this riding,” Keller said.

“I think that provides an opportunity for people in this riding to make a change and to make a real choice on election day.”

Valerie Kennedy, a retired union leader for Ontario Northland who advocated for fair wages, safer workplaces, and stronger protections for women in male-dominated industries, is the local NDP (New Democrat Party) candidate.

Kennedy said the government should do more to address affordability and housing by boosting taxes on billionaires.

“There’s no reason that all Canadians don’t have a little dignity to have a little place to live. It doesn’t have to be big. We don’t need $400,000 homes and even that’s not big,” she said.

“We need a place to put to rest our head and open the fridge and have a sandwich and not worry about everything … Like I say, tax the billionaires. People are making $10 billion. They’re hiding their money.”

Kennedy said she’s focused on her own campaign and isn’t going to engage in political discourse, especially at a time when our neighbours south of the border have talked about annexing Canada into the United States.

“I want to give hope,” she said.

“Hope is important because we’re living in a world right now thinking about the USA. What we need to think about is Canada and the strength of Canadians as we move forward.”

Running for the Green Party of Canada is Louise Poitras, an executive board member for the North Bay Indigenous Hub. She was unavailable for an interview.

The local People’s Party of Canada candidate is John Janssen.