USA relations, shipping, housing and Cty Rd 49 among debate topics

By Sharon Harrison
With the federal election just one week away, and with many already casting a vote in the long weekend’s advance polls, the 2025 all-candidates federal election debate took place at the Regent Theatre in Picton on Easter Monday evening.

While it was the only debate to be held in the County during this short election campaign, other debates have been held around the region in recent weeks.

The four candidates vying for the Bay of Quinte MP seat are: incumbent Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams (Conservative), Chris Malette (Liberal), Kate Crothers (New Democrats), and Erica Charlton (Green).

Hosted by the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce, with support from the Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture, the event was moderated by Jason Clarke, PEC Chamber of Commerce board member and past chair and co-owner of Bare Bones Distillery.

The event, lively with some heckling, saw around 250 people attend in person, and it was also broadcast live by 99.3 CountyFM.

Questions focused on federal policy, legislation and funding and were based on community feedback from residents, community and business organizations, including the Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture, the County Arts Council, with issues of priority identified by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce advocacy committee.

Topics covered included agriculture, tariffs, affordable housing, infrastructure, cost of living, County Road 49, doctor shortage, healthcare improvements, and tax relief,

In his brief introduction, Duarte Da Silva, CEO of the Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce, said, in a healthy democracy, the act of voting is more than a right, it is a responsibility.

“It is the cornerstone of our representative government, and that means by which we shape our future, the County’s future, and your vote is your voice, and when we participate collectively, we amplify that voice to guide the direction of our community and our country,” said Da Silva. “This evening offers a unique opportunity to hear directly from each of the four candidates about their vision, policies and priorities.”

Moderator Jason Clarke said interest from Canadians in this election is at an all-time high, and this is arguably one of the most important elections in decades.

“The turnout is absolutely awesome and it’s so great to see so many people out and showing an interest tonight in politics, and for the hundreds and hundreds here,” said Clarke.

Each candidate had three minutes to introduce themselves, beginning with NDP candidate, Picton resident Kate Crothers who said the reason why she decided to run in this election, and why she decided to run for the NDP, was becasue, “I care about our home”.

“I care about my neighbours, I care about our collective future, and this care is what has led me to stand-up in way that has allowed me to shape the future into one that is safer, greener and more equitable, and more just,” expressed Crothers. “Care is what I have seen the most of over the last four weeks on the campaign trail: care for everyday people, not billionaires, not millionaires, but people who live here in Picton.”

She said the NDP is the only party that progresses policies that reflect care.

“Care for the middle class led the NDP to push forward a dental care bill that reduces the cost of dental visits from $150 to $7; care for young parents led the NDP to create a $7 a day childcare program, care for families like mine who are feeling the cost of eggs, milk, bread and butter is why the NDP is willing to establish a cap on grocery prices for daily essentials.”

The County’s Erica Charlton, with the Greens, said, critical thinking Canadians are done with divisionary politics getting in the way of actual progressive legislation that would help everyone.
She said what’s needed is leadership and unity, and a goal and a plan to get there, where she also spoke to the value of working together, and standing together.

“We have a huge issue with our politics as it’s based on hate and division; the more they divide us, the easier it will be to take over us, and that’s the plan right now,” stated Charlton. “These economic tariffs that we are experiencing are causing us problems and we need to stand together to get the done job. We need to cross party lines, have conversations, and put the legislation forward that we need, but we are not doing that. We are fighting, we are bickering, we are comparing who has got bigger crowd sizes.”

She said Canadians are used to being resilient.

“You’ve got to be tough to be Canadian, we are resilient, but we are also willing to work through our differences because we know Canada is built on small rural communities that have to work through differences just to survive, and we need to survive right now. Beyond that, we need to thrive. “

Conservative incumbent Ryan Williams said this is the most important election Canada will have in a long time.

Williams spoke to the young people of Prince Edward County, and how they are finding it harder and harder to stay, quoting a statistic that only 14 percent of County residents are under the age of 19 (that’s 40 percent lower than the rest of Canada).

“Young people are finding it harder and harder to stay. The cost of living is up. Housing is out of reach and the dream of building a life here where you grew up, where your family lives, is slipping away,” Williams said. “We have to work together to fix affordability this election, we have to make sure to put more money in people’s pockets, we stop inflationary spending and we look after the real issues.”

He said some of the real issues that he would work on, if elected, include, firstly County Road 49, “it’s a crucial road in desperate need of repair and it needs to be fixed right away”. Also the Pinecrest Housing development for 55 seniors’ residences in Bloomfield. “It should have been the example of what we can do with an old school with old infrastructure; it needs to be finished.”

Williams also spoke to what he would do for the doctor shortage and a program for training international trained doctors, he spoke to how he fought for Traverse Point and the commercial fishing village torn down by the government, he mentioned exceeding dental care, pharmacare and childcare, and 15 percent income tax across the board, and eliminating the EV mandate.

“Liberal candidate, six-year Belleville councillor Chris Malette, with a 36-year career in local journalism, said “this election is the most important one of our lifetime”.

“Mark Carney is the best, most qualified, trustworthy person to lead Canada during these turbulent and dangerous times. We are hearing it time and time again at the doors.”

He said prime minister Carney’s platform, released over the weekend, is to unite, secure, protect and build the nation.

“The Liberal government’s plan includes healthcare improvements, tariff infrastructure-related jobs creation, tax relief, and no compromise on the environment to build infrastructure,” stated Malette. “A Mark Carney government will protect and respect the agri-food businesses and its supply managed sectors, including dairy, poultry and eggs, from tariff negotiations.”

He said they will also make permanent the doubling of revenue protection for farmers from $3 million to $6 million per farm, in case of significant revenue drops caused by the Trump tariffs, extreme weather events and other external shocks.

The 10 questions posed to the candidates covered a variety of areas, including: reducing inter-provincial trade barriers, arts and culture funding, infrastructure and services, shortage of primary care physicians, and assisting small business in accessing capital, among them.

The first question put to the candidates asked if they believed the Canada-US relationship is worth salvaging, and if so, how would they re-build the relationship. If not, what do they see as the ultimate path?

Charlton answered “probably”.

She said the relationship needs re-evaluating because both economies were built on a very intertwined trade agreement.

“You just need to ride out the wave hopefully, and from there it would be able to re-negotiate what the relationship looks like at the end of that term,” she said. “What it could look like though is us being able to take our raw resources and manufacture them at every level, that will allow us to add value to that process and engage international trading partners that we might not have had access to before.”

Williams said the relationship needs to be re-negotiated, noting 75 percent of all exports go to the US, and there is a trillion dollars worth of trade between the two countries.

“We had a president who is taking advantage of Canada, and we had a prime minister who didn’t stand up for Canada and its industries,” said Williams. “What that means is we have to become more competitive; if the Americans aren’t going to trade with us, we are going to trade with south-east Asia.”

Malette said Canada is inextricably tied to the US markets with $1 trillion trade arrangement with the US.

“We need to ensure there are safeguards to the Canadian economy and not be treated as a 51st state, on what has now turned into a serious threat,” said Malette, who said Carney was looking for new and friendly markets around the world. “There is a lot of uncertainty and we are developing relationships with other nations, we are also strengthening the ties between provinces.”

Picton Terminals came up in one of the submitted questions (by the Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture) as it relates to the new Parrish and Heimbecker grain terminal.

Described as a critical piece of supply-chain infrastructure for regional grain farmers which holds many benefits for farmers and the environment, the new marine agricultural terminal will reduce transportation costs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, remove trucks from Highway 401, and improve access to export markets.

The question: do you support the grain terminal, and if so, how will your government show support? If you do not support the new grain terminal, please explain why.

All four candidates answered yes.

Crothers said the new grain terminal clearly brings benefits to regional grain farmers, it reduces transportation costs, opens up access to export markets and it lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s the kind of infrastructure that can support both the economy and the environment, but I want to be clear, support for agriculture doesn’t mean ignoring the concerns of the community,” said Crothers. “I’ve heard from residents who are worried about increased industrial traffic in residential areas, noise, dust, and the long-term environmental impacts on the Bay of Quinte, and those concerns are real and valued.”

She also said the development should benefit local farmers, not just large corporate interests.

Malette said he did support the expansion to access larger markets as it would help Prince Edward County and Quinte region grain farmers greatly access markets in the rest of the world.

“It’s important that any of these expansions are also done in an environmentally-friendly way and with full compliance of provincial and federal legislations,” expressed Malette. “We are also cognizant that any of this operation of the P&H terminal is also within a short distance of the drinking water intake in Picton harbour, and we very concerned about the impacts of sediments or dust and we will be closely monitoring that from an environmental standpoint.”

Not committing to a full “yes”, Charlton said, “What I support is what the community supports”.

Williams said he “supports the grain terminal with the condition that Picton Terminals acts to be a good neighbour following environmental and zoning bylaws, and maintaining community engagement. And as long as Highway 49 is fixed at the same time.“

“It’s going to be good for the farmers, and whatever is good for farmers is going to be good for the community.”

In a question submitted by the Ontario Chamber Commerce on affordable housing development, it asked, what specific federal funding mechanisms would you propose to help Bay of Quinte municipalities finance the infrastructure necessary for afford housing development?

Crothers said she would create a permanent federal funding stream for municipalities to build the infrastructure, like roads, water, waste water and transit needs to unlock affordable housing developments.

“Right now, too many shovel-ready projects are stuck because local governments simply cannot afford the up-front costs. That has to change.”

She said they would also restore federal leadership in affordable housing with a publicly-funded, not-for-profit housing strategy meaning direct investment in community housing, co-ops and mixed income development with stable operating funding for the long-term.

“Affordable housing isn’t a luxury, it’s a right, and we need the federal government to finally treat it that way. “

Malette said he would extend the housing accelerator fund. Charlton said she would eliminate the GST on non-market housing construction material.

“We have to get housing done as fast as possible,” added Williams, “and that means getting rid of red tape and ensuring that government actually gets out of the way because government is having a terrible time building housing.”

An audience question surrounding County Road 49 asked, will your party will commit to providing the unfunded portion of $24.5 million, given that in January the province provided almost $20 million of the required $52.3 million to support the rehabilitation of County Road 49.

“We have to get 49 done, there’s no question,” said Williams. ”The federal government doesn’t fund roads. I commit right now to get that road funded and make sure we get it paved and get it done for Prince Edward County.”

Malette said it is a priority, and it is a downloading issue that has happened to municipalities. “When we get to Ottawa, we will fight for this with any means of funding we can, it’s not only become a crucial issue, but it’s become a safety issue, it needs to be done.”