Newmarket-Aurora candidates focus on health care

Taking his first crack at office and hoping to represent the riding of Newmarket-Aurora is New Democrat Denis Heng, who said he was inspired by his role on the frontlines during the pandemic as a public health epidemiologist.

"After two and a half years listening to the government and what they were saying they were going to do, there was this whole disconnect, and it made my job, my colleague's jobs, that much harder to protect the community."

Heng said he wants to bring the community together with a focus on the environment, affordability and healthcare.

"We recognize that there is a problem. That the status quo isn't good enough and that we should be taking a step back to fix the system," he said.

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Dr. Sylvain Roy is running in the riding for the Liberal Party.

With a background in mental health, he wants to see better supports in place for those who need it.

"In the past two years and certainly before that, we've seen the cuts to public health and mental health have been a real challenge, so we want to invest in the workforce and rebuild the health-care system."

Roy said he wants to bridge the gap and make healthcare more accessible.

"We need strong policies and thought leaders to bring that along in the right direction," said Roy.

"One of the things I've learned as a Francophone is the health care and education system is also failing them as well. Because at the end of the day, finding a French doctor who is able to deliver care in French is really difficult. The waitlists are so much longer for Francophones in the province, and we can certainly do something to recruit and retain individual Francophones to deliver that care."

Green Party candidate Carolina Rodriguez is a student at the University of Guelph majoring in Environmental Governance.

Her passion for the environment is the driving force behind her campaign.

"The climate crisis is the biggest thing on my mind as a young person and as someone who is getting ready to head out on their own career path and moving out of the home and doing all these things that will be impacted by climate change," said Rodriguez.

"I represent the future. I represent a really bright future and one that prioritizes the people over big powers that we've had prioritized in the past."

The riding has a new Progressive Conservative on the ballot, with incumbent Christine Elliott not seeking re-election.

Dawn Gallagher Murphy is running as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the York Region riding.

The mother, wife and entrepreneur isn't new to the political ring, having served with Elliott as constituency manager since 2018.

CTV News reached out to Gallagher Murphy for comment, but she declined an interview.

The three other candidates on the ballot include Iwona Czarnecka with New Blue, Yuri Duboisky with the Ontario Moderate Party and Krista McKenzie with the Ontario Party.

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