SMITH-RICHTER TO GO AT IT AGAIN AS TORIES, GREENS EXPECTED TO FIGHT CLOSE RACE PROVINCIALLY
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
PARRY SOUND–MUSKOKA — A political rematch to watch is in the works.
Graydon Smith will square off with Matt Richter sometime between now and June 2026 in a provincial election widely expected this spring.
The MPP made it official today, when the Ontario PC Party announced that Graydon Smith has been acclaimed as the party’s candidate for Parry Sound–Muskoka. He was also controversially acclaimed when he first ran in 2022 without a party nomination meeting.
Richter opened his Green Party campaign office in Bracebridge last Wednesday to unseat his political rival in a second set-to.
In 2022 Smith won the riding with 20,216 votes to Richter’s 18,102 votes — a difference of 2,114 with 44,558 total ballots cast.
Smith, the former mayor, faces some criticism for his handling of the hospitals debate in his hometown, which critics say is unequal sharing of MAHC services.
A Smith release this afternoon said he “delivered significant results for the residents” in his two-and-a-half years as the member, claiming he “helped secure more than $500 million in new government funding (not including the $1 billion investment for new hospitals).”
It said highlights of his achievements include $51 million for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades, $900,000 per year in operational funding for the new MRI machine, approximately $80 million in Municipal Partnership Funding, approximately $35 million in Ontario Community Infrastructure Funding, millions in new funding for local Family Health Teams, the restoration of Northlander passenger rail service and approximately $10 million in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation funding.
“Graydon Smith is a tireless advocate for his community, and his commitment to improving the lives of families in Parry Sound–Muskoka is unparalleled,” Premier Doug Ford is quoted saying in the release. “From cutting costs for families to expanding access to high-speed internet, fighting the Liberal carbon tax to make life more affordable, and investing in local health care, Graydon is delivering results. I’m proud to have him on our team as we continue building a brighter future for all Ontarians.”
“I am deeply grateful for the trust the people of Parry Sound–Muskoka have placed in me,” said Graydon Smith. “Over the past term, we have made substantial progress in improving local quality of life. Our government has committed unprecedented levels of health and infrastructure investment — from the new hospitals to MRI services and expanded primary care teams to over $100 million to build better community infrastructure — and I continue to do everything I can to help make our communities stronger. But the work doesn’t stop here. We need an MPP in government to shepherd these new hospitals through to completion, ensure critical infrastructure gets built and further expand access to family doctors and nurse practitioners.”
“Graydon is the only candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka in touch with the issues affecting the average family and capable of making people’s lives better, as he has done as an elected official over the past 18 years,” said Dan Powers, President of the Parry Sound-Muskoka PC Association. “A vote for Graydon is a vote for greater affordability, lower taxes, more jobs, more doctors, more investment and a strong voice for our riding at Queen’s Park.”
In a dig at Richter, Powers added: “A vote for the other parties is a vote for skyrocketing home energy costs, expensive schemes, higher taxes, big-city housing density and being relegated to the political wilderness at Queen’s Park. There’s too much at stake to relegate our communities to the fringes of the Legislature.”
Meanwhile, Richter, Ontario Green’s Deputy Leader and candidate, has announced that he will dedicate himself to campaigning full-time in the lead-up to the next provincial election.
In his release Monday, he said: “This is a critical time for our community. For too long, this government has taken our riding for granted.
“I am committed to campaigning full-time because we need an MPP who really listens to our community. I’ll be spending my time doing just that — knocking on doors, meeting with voters, businesses, community groups, and providing support in the community.”
Richter’s full-time candidacy comes as speculation about an early election grows, it says. It says his campaign will meet the challenges of a potentially shortened timeline and ensures he can engage with residents across the riding on the issues that matter most to them.”
He told us last Friday night the Greens are ready now and as early as April 2 (as they suspect) to go to the polls, which favour the Tories.
“In 2022, we saw the Ford government attempt to buy our vote with the licence plate sticker bribe,” says Richter. “Now they want to send the financially elite a $200 cheque, while recklessly spending billions of our money on putting a Spa at Ontario Place, ripping out bike lanes in Toronto, and paving over prime farmland and sensitive wetlands for an unnecessary highway.”
Richter also announced the hiring of his 2022 campaign manager, Maureen Balsillie.
He says she is one of Canada’s Green campaign heavyweights who ran Aislinn Clancy’s successful 2023 campaign to become Ontario’s second Green MPP.
She also comes back to Parry Sound-Muskoka from a successful campaign in B.C. this fall where she was the campaign director for the B.C. Greens where the party had its first Green MLA elected on the mainland in Jeremy Valeriote and held a Green seat, the first in Canada, when Rob Botterell won in Adam Olsen’s former seat.
Balsillie helped lift Richter’s campaign in 2022, nearly turning the seat Green, and increasing their voter share to 40% with an exciting campaign that captured the imagination of people all across Ontario.
In that race Richter received more votes than half of all other winning campaigns in the province.
“I’m thrilled to have Maureen re-joining the team to lead this effort. Over the past three years, she has proven herself as a strategic and creative campaigner and I’m certain her leadership and experience will make this a campaign to be reckoned with.
Said Balsillie: “In 2022, this campaign achieved historic levels of support through on the ground engagement and a committed group of almost 400 volunteers. The momentum Greens generated in 2022 never stopped and the excitement continues to grow.
“The people of Parry Sound-Muskoka are ready for leadership that really listens to them and represents their need over partisan interests. Matt Richter is that leader and I know that he will be elected as their first Green MPP.”
The campaign team emphasizes that having a full-time candidate and campaign manager is a key step in building on past successes and preparing for the possibility of an early election.
“Regardless of how Doug Ford’s government attempts to spin the need for a surprise election, our team is ready to turn Parry Sound – Muskoka Green,” says Richter.
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