As of Tuesday, the Ontario Liberals have not announced a candidate to run in Sault Ste. Marie.
On Jan. 26, Taylor Deasley, a spokesperson for Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, told SooToday they are currently in the process of nominating a candidate for Sault Ste. Marie.
SooToday followed up with an email on Jan. 29 to ask if the local riding association will hold a meeting to decide who the party’s candidate will be.
Deasley did not respond and has not responded to other follow up emails requesting information on the meeting and asking if a candidate has been chosen or nominated.
Other parties have announced their candidates for the riding.
Doug Ford chose Chris Scott, the first candidate who announced that he was running, without holding a local vote. 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.
This is not the first time the Liberals added a candidate late.
In 2022, Aidan Kallioinen, an 18-year-old high school student from Espanola, was chosen as the Liberal candidate the week that nomination papers were due, before the party turfed him and went with Liam Hancock the day before papers needed to be filed.
According to Elections Ontario, candidates have until 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Feb. 13 to file their nomination paper.
Voters will head to the polls on Feb. 27.
This story will be updated as more information comes in.