Peggy Revell
Kenora-Rainy River voters will be sending a new face to Queen’s Park this fall, as longtime MPP Howard Hampton will not be seeking reelection.
“It’s fresh open—it’s all up for grabs really,” said Anthony Leek who is set to be acclaimed as this riding’s Liberal Party candidate for the provincial election slated for Oct. 6.
“It comes down to that. There’s no real expectations, none of us know what’s going to happen,” he added.
“[Hampton’s] done a great job for what he was able to do here over time. He connected well with people, and I’m hoping that I can continue that tradition through having that opportunity as well,” Leek said.
Leek’s said his own decision to run came before Hampton’s retirement was announced this past Friday afternoon.
“I really wanted to have that opportunity to go head to head with [Hampton]. That would have been really awesome,” he said, noting that would have been three when Hampton was first elected to Queen’s Park 24 years ago.
“It’s sad to see him go,” said Sarah Campbell—who has worked for the past eight years out of Hampton’s Dryden Constituency office—and is seeking the nomination for the NDP candidacy.
“He’s such a strong and effective representative and he’s done so much, not just for our riding but all of Northwestern Ontario,” she reflected.
Growing up in Northwestern Ontario, Hampton was “always the household name” Campbell said, and is someone she’s always had a “tremendous amount” of respect for.
“It’s going to be different, there’s no doubt about that,” she said about the upcoming election.
“At the end of the day you have to ask yourself, can you commit to doing this for four more years, and I couldn’t,” said Hampton about his decision to not run in this fall’s election.
“Ultimately—this is just the last couple of weeks—I said to myself ‘You know what, if you’re not ready to commit to four years, you should go now—you shouldn’t go out and do the election campaign and then a year later say I don’t want to do this, and force a by-election.’”
“I think that would leave a really bad taste in people’s mouths,” he added.
Having been involved in every provincial and federal election campaign in Northwestern Ontario over the last 35 years—with 24 of them serving as an MPP, Hampton said that he felt it was time for him to do something else.
This could include going back to practicing law, or teaching—but Hampton stressed that he’s not in any hurry to make up his mind.
And he won’t be dropping out of sight with this upcoming election though.
“I’m going to be on everyone’s doorstep one more time,” Hampton vowed. “I’ll be doing lots of canvassing. I want very much for people to have a good, progressive MPP, and so I’m going to be doing everything I can [for the NDP’s candidate].
And with Hampton retiring from politics, Leek said he expects constituents to be paying more attention to all the candidates.
“There’s a whole new attention span that’s changed, because people that have supported Howie for a lot of years—now they have to look at something new, something different,” he reasoned. “I think over the next few months what we’re going to see is increased attention to see what the candidates are all about.”
“Some people have asked ‘Is this a safe seat for the NDP?’ and I don’t think that any riding anywhere is safe for any party,” said Campbell. “And I think that once you start to take that for granted that’s when you’re not representing the people as hard as you possibly can.”
Alongside Campbell, Kenora’s Robert Sinding announced yesterday evening that he would be seeking the NDP candidacy.
Sinding is a trial lawyer based in Kenora with his firm Sinding & Associates, and has been active in the New Democrats for over 20 years—having participated in councils, conventions and local riding work throughout the years and having previously worked as a constituency assistant for NDP MPPs, including Marion Boyd.
“I want to build on Howard Hampton’s strong representation of this riding,” stated Sinding in announcing his candidacy. “I have the experience and the ability to best speak out for Kenora–Rainy River on the issues that matter to us.”
The Progressive Conservative Party and the Green Party haven’t announced candidates for the Kenora-Rainy River riding yet.
Meanwhile, at 27 and 29 years old respectively, Leek and Campbell also represent a younger generation getting involved in provincial politics.
“I think we’re starting to hit that point where there’s that transition of individuals from the older to the younger,” noted Leek, pointing to how a dozen of Liberals have retired after “many, many, many decades of service in the political world,” and how the baby boomer generation is slowly retiring—and somebody has to be there to replace them.
“I think it’s just something that’s going across the province,” he said, adding that the same thing is being seen even federally with the NDP seeing the youngest ever MP—of 19 years old—elected this past spring.
“Anything’s possible and I think having that different perspective, that youthful perspective amongst other people that are still involved and been involved for 20 years, really brings the balance to provincial politics,” he said.
“I think it’s exciting,” said Campbell. “Regardless of my political stripe, I think it’s exciting to see young people get involved.
“So often we hear ‘Oh, the young people are apathetic and we need to get them involved,’ so to see young people coming forward? I think it’s excellent.”
Despite their youth, both Campbell and Leek are no strangers to politics.
“I tremendously enjoy the work that I’m doing right now,” said Campbell about her role working in Hampton’s constituency office in Dryden over the past eight years—noting that much of the work she has done is the same job an MPP would be doing.
“By doing the work and by taking on a lot of the work for him, I have really, really, realized how hard you have to work to represent this riding and to represent it well. I hope that people will see that and vote for me,” she said.
“I have a good understanding of what’s involved. I think that I’m a strong and effective advocate and I also think that I’m a hard worker and I’m not afraid to give up my weekend, weeknights and all my free time to raise awareness,” added Campbell, estimating that 80 percent of what she’s done has been on her own time without pay.
“I think that’s the kind of dedication that people in this riding deserve from their MPP, especially with a riding as large as ours.”
Campbell also serves as the Oxdrift representative for the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) and DoKURA (District of Kenora Unincorporated Ratepayers Association).
Leek was most recently elected to sit on Emo town council.
“Even in the time that I’ve been with council, I’ve really come to learn just how hard municipalities and individuals work in this region to really provide great services and infrastructure and so on for the people that work here and live here,” he said.
Ideologically, he said he’s “very near centre”—which is why he is running for the Liberal party.
“I just really support the ideological beliefs of that middle ground, of trying to find the balance between everything. I just felt like I was a natural fit for that,” he said, praising the Liberal party for it’s future planning for Ontario.
“I just felt like this is an opportunity for me to go even further to help across the whole riding and to really represent for us in Queen’s Park, really promote the area,” he said, pointing to the changes coming to the area through new mining development, a restabilizing of the forestry industry—but also the need to address the area’s aging infrastructure.
“We’re in for four or five years of some serious change and serious development and we need to be prepared for that,” Leek stressed. “And it’s up to the provincial government to be preemptive on their investments.”
And for whoever ends up heading to Queen’s Park after Oct. 6, Hampton said the best advice he can give them is to remember the constituents who sent them there.
“One of things you don’t want to do is get elected to Queen’s Park and then think it’s all about what happens at Queen’s Park,” he said. “[That] it’s all about the Toronto Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, or the Toronto CBC.”
“It’s not. It’s about your constituents. It’s about the communities they live in. It’s about their day to day struggles to make ends meet. It’s about their future, their families. That’s what it’s all about. And as long as you keep your head clearly focused on that you’ll do okay.”
