Barrie ridings prepare for expected Fall election

BARRIE, ONT. -

With the prime minister expected to call a federal election this coming weekend, some parties in Barrie are still in the process of formalizing their candidates.

On Thursday, CTV News learned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to visit the governor-general on Sunday, asking for parliament to be dissolved and an election to be called.

"The opposition is going to say this is not the right time, the governing party is going to say it's necessary because we're coming through to the end of the pandemic and we need to have an election to talk about what's coming next," says Michael Johns, a visiting professor of politics and York University.

While all of the candidates for Barrie-Innisfil have been nominated, both riding associations for the Green Party and NDP of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte are still looking for a candidate.

Conservative candidates currently hold both ridings in Barrie. John Brassard has held the riding of Barrie-Innisfil since October 2015. Doug Shipley will be running for the second time, hoping to continue to keep the riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte after first being elected in October 2019.

Political experts, like Johns, say the Liberals most likely see data that suggests that an election this Fall will be to their benefit. With changing demographics, Johns suggests that the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding could be up for grabs.

"It has two…conservatives MPs, it has two conservative MPPs, but the city is changing, and the two ridings are not that much alike," says Johns. "You have the Barrie-Innisfil riding, which is much more rural in the southern part and in the northern riding, you have a different demographic."

With the election campaign expected to be as short as permitted, a mere 36 days, Johns says a riding's competitiveness will be apparent.

"Certainly, we'll know very quickly if any of the parties think that these ridings are vulnerable because they will be moving resources into them," says Johns. "If we see Justin Trudeau campaigning in Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte or if you see Erin O'Toole coming to the region or Jagmeet Singh, that means that they think that these ridings are competitive."