All Candidates Meeting in Verona

Apr 16, 2025

By Jemma Dooreleyers

Candidates running as Lanark-Frontenac’s Member of Parliament answered to a lively crowd at the Verona Lions Centre on the evening of Wednesday, April 9th.

Almost every seat was taken in the hall for the county’s first and only All-Candidates meeting for the 2025 Federal election.

Hosted by Frontenac News’ Publisher/Editor, Jeff Green, candidates Michelle Foxton for the Liberal Party, Danielle Rae for the New Democratic Party and Scott Reid, Lanark-Frontenac’s MP for 25 years and Conservative candidate, began with addressing the crowd by explaining who they were and what their main concerns for the 2025 election were.

They mentioned the importance of unity and the ability to connect with MPs at this time of political unrest and confusion with the introduction of the trade war invoked by the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

According to their introductory statements, Reid wants to continue his work as MP and represent Lanark-Frontenac by supporting policy changes that impact the taxation on pension plans and investments. Foxton wants to encourage unity and political involvement from the Lanark Frontenac riding as well as ensure a viable future for the children of Canada.

Rae wants to plant seeds for political involvement and grassroots movements for the people of the Lanark-Frontenac riding.

The meeting began with tensions running high with a question from a farmer who was feeling passionate about tariffs imposed on fertilizer from the United States. He wanted to know how each candidate was going to combat these tariffs and make it easier for the farmers in the riding.

Foxton assured the hall that she has been speaking with farmers and figuring out ways to best support everyone through the tariffs.

Rae recognized that the NDP has been a largely urbanist party recently but the origins of the party were from rural Saskatchewan and that to fight for the farmers, NDP wants to find more trading partners within Canada so that tariffs are not an issue for farmers.

Reid explained that tariffs hurt Canadians and that he will do what he can to combat them as well.

The next question was a fact-checking question about the changes in taxation policy Reid had proposed in his introduction. Each candidate assured the meeting that they were aware of the hardships people in the riding are facing and how they want to create equality for Canadians struggling in this economy.

After that, there was a question about the abattoir that had recently burned down and if there were any plans to re introduce an abattoir at Joyceville Institution.

Rae noted that there seemed to be a deeper feeling of a government that has become unresponsive to the needs of the community and of a democratic deficit in the riding.

Foxton has toured the abattoir in Joyceville and found out that if it was cleaned properly and a separate company was willing to bring its own equipment, the government would be willing to reintroduce the abattoir to Joyceville.

Reid pointed to the work of former Green party candidate Calvin Neufeld, who documented large Liberal government expenditures related to both the Joyceville abattoir and the Prison Farm program, with very limited outcomes.

The next set of questions was geared toward Canada’s international reputation.

People wanted to know how the parties were going to promote tourism in the region this summer if American tourists don't come, and what Canada will do to manage the relationship with the United States.

The candidates were in general agreement on these questions. Each candidate is in favour of promoting the tourism economy to the region and extending the notion to Americans who are visiting Canada that “we are still friends”.

Michelle Foxton talked about bolstering peace-keeping operations, Danielle Rae wants to move away from arms dealing and look for more trade relationships in Europe, and Scott Reid talked about improving trade relationships within Canada.

The next question was about the growing concern for hatred towards women and the overturning of Roe v Wade, the court-decision that made a woman’s right to choose a human right in the United States. The person asking the question wanted to know how each candidate was going to protect the rights of women and other vulnerable members of Canadian society. 

Reid answered the question by saying that because a woman’s right to choose is entrenched in the constitution in Canada, that people do not need to worry about those rights being taken away.

Foxton and Rae spoke to the growing concern of these policies popping up around the globe and believed the first step to fighting these concerns would be to acknowledge them as a real threat.

The final questions were about standing up to Donald Trump to protect our farmers, electoral reform and whether that was on the table, and finally what each party liked about each other.

While they all once again had their different answers that pertained to their party values, the general consensus throughout the meeting was that each party candidate was fighting for what they believed was right for Canadians and their riding

(Editors Note: As part of our election coverage, interviews in question and answer form with Danielle Rae (NDP) and Michelle Foxton (Liberal) can be found on pages 7 and 8, respectively, in this issue of the Frontenac News. 

An interview with the sitting MP Scott Reid (Conservative Party ) was printed in last week’s (April 10) paper.

The Scott Reid interview, as well as the two that are in this paper, are all posted on Frontenacnews.ca.

There is an official Green Party candidate, Blair Robertson, in the new Lanark Frontenac riding that is being contested for the first time in this election.

Anita Payne, the President of the Green Party Riding Association in the riding, informed us that Blair Robertson is not conducting an “active’ campaign and we were not able to contact Robertson to conduct an interview.

Advanced polls open tomorrow, April 18. Please see ad on page 7 for details about how to vote early or on Election Day, April 28