THUNDER BAY — Investing in the region’s economy and dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats of heavy tariffs are what's important to Kevin Holland, as he will look to maintain his role representing the Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding at Queen’s Park.
Election day for Ontario voters is Feb. 27, after Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford called a snap election on Jan. 22.
Holland, who won Thunder Bay-Atikokan for the governing Progressive Conservatives in 2022, ended decades of Liberal and NDP control over the riding. He said, over the past couple of years, he’s most proud of his ability to get various regional stakeholders to come to the table and work together.
“I think it's about being able to bring people together and the collaboration and cooperation that we've established across agencies,” he said. “We've held several round tables, both for economics and as well as for social issues.”
Those included three roundtable discussions on mental health and addictions, he said.
Holland will be seeking another mandate from voters in the next election. He said, while he’s pleased with the work he’s done in his first term in office, there’s still more to do.
“The last two years since being elected in 2022, we've really been able to move the needle here in Thunder Bay on some of the core issues … and priorities, as well as the opportunities for our region,” he said. “But the work isn't done.”
That work, he said, may become difficult, as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened heavy tariffs on Canada — those were paused for at least 30 days on Feb. 3.
“We know that he's kind of a volatile president and we need to make sure that we're protecting those jobs here in Ontario,” Holland said, adding that they’re focusing on getting a “strong mandate.”
“If we don't have the jobs, and we don't have that strong economy, we're not going to have the programs that lead to our healthy communities.”
Holland said the city has seen over $1 billion in provincial funding over the past two-and-a-half years, including in areas such as healthcare, homelessness prevention, and mental health and addictions.
“That's really been instrumental in the investments we're seeing coming here and changing the perception of Thunder Bay and allowing everybody to recognize the huge opportunities that are before us here,” he said.
In the riding, former MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell will challenge Holland for his seat, running under the NDP banner, while Stephen Margarit, a former constituency assistant to longtime MPP and cabinet minister Michael Gravelle will run for the Liberals. Eric Arner will run for the Green Party for the second election in a row.
