It was no coincidence that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the town of Keswick on Thursday.
Trudeau’s visit comes just 25 days before a by-election for a seat long occupied by a Conservative.
For 14 years the riding of York-Simcoe has been Tory-strong.
“This is about making sure that people know they have real choices in the next election,” says Trudeau. “And the way we’re working on this by-election is really about showing people the investments we’ve been making in their community.”
The high-profile visit comes after former cabinet minister Peter Van Loan retired in September. His liberal rival in the last federal election, Shaun Tanaka, is taking another kick at the political can.
Van Loan defeated Tanaka in 2015 by 6,000 votes, but now she’s hoping to capitalize on the momentum.
“We increased the liberal voter turnout by 400 percent, which is a massive accomplishment in a riding that traditionally has gone conservative,” she says.
Scot Davidson is the Tory candidate, and Jessa McLean is running for the NDP.
This is the first chance for all parties to whet the appetite of voters in the vote-rich 905-area.
York-Simcoe voters will head to the polls on February 25th.
