Ontario NDP candidate withdraws from Toronto riding to support Liberals
The candidate nominated by the Ontario NDP for Toronto riding Eglinton-Lawrence has pulled out of the election and is throwing her support behind the Liberals.
Natasha Doyle-Merrick says in a statement that Eglinton-Lawrence is a "clear two-party contest" and she is stepping aside in the hopes of preventing another Progressive Conservative win.
The Tories have held the riding provincially since 2018, when the Liberals came within about 500 votes of Progressive Conservative candidate Robin Martin, who is not running this time. The Liberals had previously represented the riding since 1999.
The Liberals also lost a candidate Thursday, the day of Elections Ontario's deadline for candidate nominations, and now have no candidate in Windsor West, which is expected to be a fight between the NDP and Progressive Conservatives.
The Liberals did not explain candidate Moe Chehab's withdrawal, simply saying it was "too bad" and that the party has a strong slate of candidates across the province.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Calgary Herald
7 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Chris Selley: Earth to Liberals — First Nations are not an anti-development monolith
Article content Sean Fraser — the federal Liberals' supposed master communicator who did a bad job as immigration minister, and then a bad job as housing minister, and then said he wasn't running again to spend time with his family, and then opportunistically changed his mind and was rewarded with the justice and attorney general portfolio — laid his first dog's egg of the Mark Carney era this week. Article content Article content Fraser said Indigenous groups don't have a 'complete veto' over natural-resource projects or any other government decisions — but that wasn't the turd in question, because it was absolutely true. Article content Article content The turd came later, apparently after getting his ears boxed by Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse: Fraser disavowed his entirely truthful statement. Article content 'I think even accepting the premise of the question that was put to me (about a 'veto') really made people feel like there may be an attempt by the government to work unilaterally, not in partnership (with First Nations),' Fraser told reporters in a public apology. Article content 'Despite innocent intentions, I think my comments actually caused hurt and potentially eroded a very precarious trust that has been built up over many years to respect the rights of Indigenous people in this country,' he said. Article content Article content Coming up on 500 years since Jacques Cartier first set foot here and named it Canada, and 150-plus years after the Crown concluded the first treaties with First Nations, and with President Donald Trump suddenly bringing our crippling dependence on the United States into very sharp focus, if we can't even speak the plain truth to each other in plain language, we might be in even bigger trouble than we realized. Article content Article content But I think we can speak the plain truth to each other in plain language, so long as we rightly marginalize fringe and unreasonable voices. While apologizing for speaking the truth, Fraser also accurately pointed to 'a frankly dangerous trope that paints a false picture of Indigenous peoples as being anti-development.' Article content The 2021 Census recorded 1.8 million Indigenous Canadians — five per cent of the Canadian population, give or take. No one would ascribe monolithic opinions like 'supports/doesn't support resource development' to any other ethnic five per cent of the Canadian population. Yet most Canadian media reliably frame these issues as 'First Nations versus the colonialist menace.'
National Post
7 hours ago
- National Post
Canadian Armed Forces deployed to assist northwestern Ontario wildfire evacuations
The federal government is deploying members of the Canadian Armed Forces to help evacuate a northwestern Ontario First Nation as wildfires rapidly spread in the region, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. Article content Carney said in a social media post that Ottawa has accepted Ontario's urgent request for assistance in and around Sandy Lake First Nation, and the military will help with emergency airlift evacuations. Article content Article content Article content 'We're prepared to mobilize every resource needed to keep Canadians safe,' Carney wrote. Article content In response to rapidly spreading wildfires in northwestern Ontario, the federal government has accepted a Request for Federal Assistance from the province. We've deployed Canadian Armed Forces aircraft and personnel to support emergency airlift evacuations… — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) June 8, 2025 Article content Article content As of Sunday, the Ontario government said the Red Lake 12 wildfire, near Deer Lake First Nation, is out of control and more than 1,500 square kilometres in size. The fire is about six kilometres from the community of Sandy Lake First Nation, it said. Article content Article content 'Overnight growth was minimal, but the fire has been exhibiting high intensity activity this morning,' the Ministry of Natural Resources said. Article content Helicopters and fire ranger crews are continuing to suppress the fires and are focusing on structure protection, the ministry said, adding that minimal rain is forecasted in the next 24 hours. Article content The ministry said Sandy Lake First Nation is conducting a phase one evacuation of residents by air, and boats will be available if needed. The province said Deer Lake First Nation remains evacuated and is being protected by fire rangers. Article content Aerial suppression activities will continue as smoke conditions allow, with helicopters and 11 FireRanger crews continuing suppression operations and focusing on structure protection. Minimal rain is forecasted over the next 24 hours. — Ontario Forest Fires (@ONforestfires) June 8, 2025
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Ottawa sending support from armed forces amid northern Ontario wildfire evacuations
A tour boat makes its way along the Rideau Canal as buildings are obscured with haze from wildfires burning in Canada's prairie provinces, in Ottawa, Friday, June 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld The federal government is deploying members of the Canadian Armed Forces to help evacuate a northwestern Ontario First Nation as wildfires rapidly spread in the region, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. Carney said in a social media post that Ottawa has accepted Ontario's urgent request for assistance in and around Sandy Lake First Nation, and the military will help with emergency airlift evacuations. 'We're prepared to mobilize every resource needed to keep Canadians safe,' Carney wrote. As of Sunday, the Ontario government said the Red Lake 12 wildfire, near Deer Lake First Nation, is out of control and more than 1,500 square kilometres in size. The fire is about six kilometres from the community of Sandy Lake First Nation, it said. 'Overnight growth was minimal, but the fire has been exhibiting high intensity activity this morning,' the Ministry of Natural Resources said. Helicopters and fire ranger crews are continuing to suppress the fires and are focusing on structure protection, the ministry said, adding that minimal rain is forecasted in the next 24 hours. The ministry said Sandy Lake First Nation is conducting a phase one evacuation of residents by air, and boats will be available if needed. The province said Deer Lake First Nation remains evacuated and is being protected by fire rangers. It said the province's northwest region had 26 active fires as of Saturday night, seven of which were out of control. Videos and photos on social media showed one fire approaching a construction site near Sandy Lake First Nation on Saturday, with multiple cargo containers catching on fire and crews reportedly escaping the blaze by sheltering in one of them. Manitoba-based construction company Sigfusson Northern confirmed their crew was safely evacuated after they were working on a job site near the First Nation. 'Our crews showed an extreme level of professionalism and courage in the face of a rapidly changing situation,' the company said in a social media post. Other provinces, including Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are also undergoing evacuation efforts in some areas due to wildfires. The wildfires have prompted air quality alerts in Ontario. Environment Canada warned that smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility in areas including Sioux Lookout, Summer Beaver and Ear Falls. The weather agency added that some northeastern areas, including Timmins, Kapuskasing and Attawapiskat, are under a special air quality statement Sunday due to the smoke. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2025. The Canadian Press
