Inflation, health care top of mind in Niagara Centre
2 contenders hoping to unseat New Democrat Jeff Burch
The COVID-19 pandemic is something the campaign team of Niagara Centre NDP MPP Jeff Burch will have to adapt to leading up to the June 2 provincial election.
“We’ve been very cautious and we’ve put a lot of thoughtfulness into making our campaign a safe space for people to volunteer in,” Burch said while mentioning the importance of masks, especially when going door to door and entering apartment buildings to connect with voters.
The campaign will be “an opportunity to listen to constituents,” said the St. Catharines resident , who listed pressing issues as health care and housing, along with affordability of such things as rent, gas and groceries.
He said the “vast majority” of calls to his constituency office have to do with housing.
“It has become a crisis in Niagara and we will be talking to people about our solutions,” said Burch.
Hoping to unseat the New Democrat is Fred Davies, a Port Colborne businessperson who ran in the city’s 2014 mayoral race. He’s the Conservative candidate for Niagara Centre, which covers Welland, Port Colborne, Thorold and a section of south St. Catharines.
Davies said “affordability, inflation and economic policy” are issues he’s hearing local voters raise.
“People want the economy to stay open,” he said.
It will be a “fast and furious” pandemic campaign with only about a month until election day. Reaching voters online will be an important component of his campaign, he said, adding in-person campaigning will adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.
“We’re very mindful of people’s sensitivity,” he said. “We’re respectful of all the people we come in contact with.”
Also seeking the Niagara Centre seat is Liberal candidate Terry Flynn, who spent 35 years working for Niagara Emergency Medical
We’ve been very cautious and we’ve put a lot of thoughtfulness into making our campaign a safe space for people to volunteer in.
JEFF BURCH NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Services.
A Niagara-on-the-lake resident who previously served 21 years on town council, nine of them as deputy lord mayor, he said cost of living is the first priority that needs to be addressed following the election.
The restructuring of the local hospital system is at the top of the list as well. Hospitals should address capacity needs and “not be built to become longterm-care facilities,” he said.
Flynn, too, said social media will play an important role in his campaign.
“Because of COVID, we’ve become a lot more proficient at utilizing Zoom and other web formats,” he said, suggesting older voters are becoming “more comfortable” with the technology.
But the grassroots approach of going door to door needs to be applied, masked if this is a preference of the homes he visits, because he isn’t as familiar of a face in Niagara Centre as he is in Niagara-on-the-lake.
“You’ve got to get out and knock on doors,” he said.
The Ontario Green Party does not have a candidate for Niagara Centre.