Tory will seek seat in Haliburton

John Tory, the Progressive Conservative party leader without a seat, is finally getting another chance to re-enter the Ontario legislature as an MPP.

Tory announced Friday morning he will run in the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

The riding, northwest of Peterborough and mostly rural, is held by MPP Laurie Scott, who will step down to clear the way for Tory to run in a byelection.

"I am looking forward to earning the trust of the people of this riding, which will in turn allow me to resume my seat in the legislature as leader of the Official Opposition," he said at a news conference at a restaurant in Lindsay.

Tory has been the leader of Ontario's PCs for more than four years and was elected to the legislature as the member for Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey in a 2005 byelection.

But in the 2007 election campaign he chose to run in a Toronto riding and was badly beaten by Liberal Education Minister Kathleen Wynne in Don Valley West.

Until now, Tory had been unable to persuade any of the 25 members of the Tory caucus to step down. 

But Scott finally relented. After five years as an MPP, she will take up the job as head of the party's election readiness committee.

In his remarks Friday morning Tory called Scott's decision a "selfless action" and promised "to represent the people of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock with the same dedication and sensitivity that you [Scott] have."

There have already been suggestions that Tory will find a different riding in the election scheduled for 2011, allowing Scott to seek another term as MPP in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

There was also mounting speculation that Tory would face strong opposition to his continued leadership from within the party if he couldn't find a way into the legislature.

Missed deadline

He had promised to make an announcement by the end of 2008, one that would clarify his political future. But he missed that deadline.

In his speech Friday Tory promised that if he is elected to the legislature he will push for improvements for rural Ontarians.

"I will be making it a personal priority to get shovels in the ground on projects like four-laning Highway 35 and extending [highways] 404 and 407," he said.

"The strength of the local economy is directly tied to action on projects like this and to the availability of high-speed broadband service outside of the big towns. This too must be a priority, as is the continuing shortage of doctors."

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, a Conservative stronghold since 1994, is one of the safest PC seats in the province. In 2007, Scott won the riding with 50 per cent of the vote, beating her closest rival by more than 20 per cent.

Under provincial law, Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty has six months to call a byelection.