The local Liberal candidate says a visit to the Sault by party leader Bonnie Crombie is not likely to happen before the end of the election.
The provincial NDP and Ontario PC leaders have each made stops in the Sault during the current election. NDP leader Marit Stiles spent a day and a half in the Sault earlier this month while Doug Ford, leader of the Ontario PC party, was in the Sault on Sunday for a campaign stop at Algoma Steel.
Gurwinder Dusanjh is the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) candidate for Sault Ste. Marie. On Friday, he told SooToday that it is not likely Crombie will visit the city before the polls close on Feb. 27.
A plane crash at Pearson International Airport on Feb. 17 grounded initial plans for a visit from Ford scheduled for the following day, before his team announced on Saturday that he would be in the Sault on Sunday.
Dusanjh was interviewed the day before Ford's team announced he was coming.
"I did send her an email but that was prior to the whole situation in Pearson and through talking to people in the OLP, I don't think any leaders are taking planes anymore," said Dusanjh.
"I wrote that email and I was like, it's best if you do come. And then her team responded, saying we'll actually talk to her tour team. But then once the plane situation happened, nobody's hopping on any planes at least until the election's done. So unfortunately, she's not going to be able to," he said.
David Orazietti and the Liberals held the Sault Ste. Marie riding from 2003 until his resignation in 2017, but since then the party has under performed here. In 2022, then-candidate Liam Hancock took less than six per cent of the vote, ending up in third behind the first place Ontario PC incumbent Ross Romano and NDP candidate Michele McCleave-Kennedy.
Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner also has not visited the Sault during the current election.
Chris Scott was announced as the PC candidate on Jan. 28.
Members of the NDP’s local riding association held a vote on Jan. 30 to choose Lisa Vezeau-Allen to be their candidate.
Gurwinder Dusanjh is the candidate for the Liberals.
Jaycob Jacques is running for the Green Party
Arnold Heino is running for the New Blue party.
And the Ontario Party candidate is Paul Frolich.
Voters will head to the polls on Feb. 27.