No surprises: Minister Gravelle is Superior-North Liberal candidate

Michael Gravelle says he’ll know when it’s time to step down.

Now is not that time.

On Tuesday the four-term Liberal MPP and minister of northern development, mines and forestry accepted his party’s unopposed nomination to seek a fifth term at Queen’s Park representing Thunder Bay-Superior North.

Gravelle, who turns 62 on Sunday, said he’s committed to the campaign and serving his constituents through at least 2015.

“This is a job that you need to do absolutely at a 100 per cent level,” Gravelle said, after making a 15-minute acceptance speech at the Italian Cultural Centre.

“Anything less means you’re not doing your job and I am very committed to maintaining that 100 per cent commitment to it. When that is no longer there, I think that will be a signal to me. But in many ways I feel more passion about this job than I ever have.”

First elected in 1995 in the now-defunct Port Arthur riding, Gravelle was an opposition back bencher through 2003, when the Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals assumed command of the province.

His perseverance paid off in 2007, when McGuinty invited him to the cabinet table and gave Gravelle the northern development and mines portfolio, adding forestry in summer 2009.

Gravelle said he’s running because he believes he still has a great deal to contribute to both the riding and the province.

Though McGuinty’s approval rating has dropped significantly in recent months, Gravelle said he remains a staunch supporter of the premier, who has gotten Northern Ontario through some tough times, particularly the collapse of the forest industry, which cost thousands of jobs throughout the region.

No party is perfect, Gravelle said in his acceptance speech, before promising to help revitalize the forest industry and remind voters of the bounty expected from mining, particularly the multi-billion dollar Ring of Fire project that many Northern communities have pegged their futures upon.

“There’s more work to be done. We’ve still got lots of work to do,” he said. “But I’m very excited about this opportunity. We are strongly supported by our riding association and certainly I want to have another term to continue to do the job as best as I possibly can.”

One of Gravelle’s nominators was Terrace Bay Mayor Mike King, whose community was recently buoyed by the re-opening of the Buchanan-owned Terrace Bay Pulp.

King said his backing doesn’t come easily, especially in the political game.

“They have to earn it. No one, but no one has earned it more than Michael Gravelle,” King said. “Michael is the hardest working member of Provincial Parliament in the entire province of Ontario.

Gravelle, whose margin of slipped from more than 17,000 in 2003 to slightly more than 2,400 over NDP candidate Jim Foulds in 2007, said he’s approaching the coming campaign with humility.

And with good reason, he said.

“Many people in this riding are still suffering,” Gravelle said. He then pointed out his government’s accomplishments, including the arrival of angioplasty and the commitment to four-lane the Trans Canada between Thunder Bay and Nipigon.

None of the other parties have yet to name their candidates.