Nothing stays the same, unless one lives in the mostly rural riding of Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
If a federal spring election that now seems likely takes place after April 22, the riding’s slightly rectangular-shaped boundary will stay as it is now, stretching from Thunder Bay all the way to the Fort Frances area.
Thunder Bay-Rainy River remained unchanged last year after a decision by the Ontario Federal Electoral Boundary Commission to shave the number of Northern Ontario ridings to nine from 10.
Other jurisdictions weren’t left so unscathed: Thunder Bay-Superior North is to bulge slightly to the north and east, while Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing is being eliminated completely.
“Representation in Northern Ontario as a whole has never been great,” remarked Conmee Mayor Sheila Maxwell.
“Up north, we always have very minimal representation.”
Thunder Bay-Rainy River’s current MP, Liberal Marcus Powlowski, said he and others managed to convince the commission that a proposed amalgamation between Thunder Bay-Rainy River and the neighbouring Kenora riding would leave democratic representation in the area “watered down.”
Adequately representing the equivalent of two large ridings with a single MP would have been practically impossible, Powlowski said.
“It takes six hours to drive from Thunder Bay to Kenora,” he noted. The Kenora riding is currently held by Conservative MP Eric Melillo.
Powlowski, 64, who has been Thunder Bay-Rainy River’s rep since 2019, said he plans to run in the next election.
“I’ve got a fantastic, diverse riding,” he said. “You’ve got rural, urban, agriculture, forestry and mining. Every damn issue in the country applies to my riding.”
The 2021 election wasn’t a cakewalk for Powlowski. Though he received more than 13,500 votes, closest challengers Adelina Pecchia (Conservative) and Yuk-Sem Won (NDP) each tallied well over 11,000.
Powlowski said he isn’t among several Liberal MPs publicly calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down as party leader in the wake of former finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s ill-timed resignation.
“That’s his decision to make,” Powlowski said, although he acknowledged that Trudeau and the Liberal party “are not in a good position at the moment,” and Freeland’s resignation was a “disaster.”
“There’s no way to sugar-coat that,” he said.
Following Friday’s cabinet shuffle, Liberal MP Patty Hajdu (Thunder Bay-Superior North) remained as the minister for Indigenous Services and minister responsible for FedNor.
In an email, Hajdu confirmed she will seek re-election when a vote is called.
“I’m excited to work with constituents across my riding — no matter the size,” she said.
