Carleton voters choosing a fresh face as MPP
PC-turned-Independent Goldie Ghamari is not running in big south Ottawa riding
Voters in the big rural Ottawa riding of Carleton will elect a new Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) this week after Progressive Conservative-turned-Independent Goldie Ghamari announced she would not run in the provincial election.
John Barresi operates a roofing and siding business out of Richmond. He's worried about a tariff war and what it would mean to his bottom line if Canada slaps retaliatory tariffs on the products he imports from the U.S.
"A lot of the products I use are manufactured in the U.S.," said Barresi.
"There's a lot of uncertainty there. So I feel that [PC Leader Doug Ford] has made that a priority. Although I've traditionally never voted Progressive Conservative, I will this time around."
Ghamari won the riding with about 50 per cent of the vote in 2018 and 2022, but was removed from caucus last June after meeting with a far-right British activist and anti-Islam campaigner.
"Goldie was a great MPP," said Nick Morabito, who works out at the Anytime Fitness gym, where he says politics is a popular topic of conversation.
"We weren't too impressed that she got exited from caucus and didn't really agree with why."
Despite the ouster, Morabito, a fuel broker who has spoken publicly about gender policies in schools, said he still plans to vote for a right-of-centre party.
Vast, mainly rural riding
Carleton makes up a large chunk of south Ottawa, including communities such as Metcalfe, Osgoode and Stittsville, and was first contested in 2018. The area's history of voting Progressive Conservative goes back further and federally, it's held by Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre.
"It's been like that forever," said Michael Driscroll, owner of the Manotick Paint Store. "I think [Doug Ford] is going to win anyway. He's pretty much a shoo-in. Let him take another shot at it."
Driscoll admits he does not have a family doctor. "I guess I'd find a doctor if I got sick," he said.
Medical manufacturing consultant Pietro Zanetti describes himself as an undecided voter, but when he heads into the ballot box he'll be thinking about health care.
"People are suffering. The health-care system is broken," said Zanetti, who has family members who work in that sector. "You go to emergency and you're waiting … [up to] 12 hours which is absurd."
Carol McDivitt experienced that first-hand. "I'm not one to use the hospital very often, but I did have an emergency last year and … and the [number of] people in the waiting room was not acceptable," she said.
"What are people supposed to do?"
Paul Haskins owns two electric cars and would like more power generation in eastern Ontario. "We're on the end of some very long lines coming all the way from Toronto," said Haskins.
The former Newbridge Networks executive who moved the region from the United Kingdom 28 years ago said he's tired of electricity outages, exacerbated by climate change-driven extreme weather events.
"In the middle of winter, that's a real problem."
Helena Simard said she'll be thinking about the cost of living when she places her vote. "Hydro is pretty crazy, even being on equal billing," said Simard. She especially resents regulatory charges.
Simard was grocery shopping and picked up a small bag of grapes, but when it came time to weigh and pay, she balked.
"I'm not paying $10 for that," said Simard, who put the fruit back. "I guess it's just a matter of principle. I just can't wrap my head around paying that much money for the tiniest little bit of grapes. I just can't do it."
Simard is also considering homeschooling her four-year-old daughter Amelia in the fall. She doesn't think the school system adequately prepared her two older children, ages 17 and 21, and now she has a chance for a do-over with her youngest.
"This is the first time in two decades, since I've been a mom, that I'm actually contemplating [homeschooling]," said Simard.
"It's more worth it for me to stay home, and have more autonomy as to what she's learning, than to entrusting that to a system that isn't quite getting it right."
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