The day before Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a snap election, the Peterborough Federal Liberal Association announced that Emma Harrison has been acclaimed as the federal Liberal candidate for the Peterborough riding.
A resident of Selwyn Township, Harrison is a third-generation farmer and a small business owner who runs the family farm with her husband Connor, a Peterborough paramedic, together with their children.
“I am thrilled to be the Liberal Candidate for Peterborough,” Harrison says in a media release. “I intend to be an MP who builds bridges instead of creating division, who understands that community has to come first instead of partisanship, and who will represent everyone, not just those who voted for me.”
“We are grateful to have such a thoughtful, caring, and practical candidate in Emma, and we are confident she will be an excellent representative for Peterborough,” Peterborough Federal Liberal Association chair Lauren Hunter says. “As our country faces unprecedented threats, now is the time to unite behind a candidate who can help build a stronger Canada.”
While Harrison is a newcomer to running for political office, she’s not a newcomer to politics. In February, kawarthaNOW profiled Harrison’s popularity on the Threads social media platform for her political commentary, growing her followers from 200 to now almost 30,000.
“People came for the cows, but they’re staying for the political commentary,” Harrison told kawarthaNOW.
“I’m actually a really political person, but only really when I’m face-to-face with other people,” she said. “I don’t usually share a lot on the internet.”
Harrison is the third-generation owner of the 137-acre farm but, before she took it over with her family in 2021, she spent five years living in Lewiston, New York while attending Niagara University on a lacrosse scholarship. She was there when Barack Obama was elected U.S. President.
“It’s hard to appreciate and understand U.S. politics and how the country works unless you’ve been there for a long period of time,” she explained. “So when things started going poorly after Trump was elected, and in Canada there was a bit more rhetoric and talk of hating on marginalized groups, I felt like I couldn’t not say something.”
The other declared candidates for the major parties in the Peterborough riding include incumbent Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri and the NDP’s Heather Ray. The Green Party has yet to declare a candidate.
Carney is expected to ask the Governor General on Sunday (March 23) to dissolve Parliament. According to CBC News, sources have confirmed that election day will be on Monday, April 28 — giving Canadians five weeks to decide who will lead the country as it faces a trade war instigated by U.S. President Donald Trump and his threats to Canada’s sovereignty.
The most recent polls have the Liberals either neck-in-neck or leading the Conservatives, which is a remarkable comeback for the governing party that was facing decimation only a few weeks ago — until Justin Trudeau resigned, Trump began threatening Canada, and Carney was elected Liberal leader.
The original version of this story has been updated with details from kawarthaNOW’s February profile of Harrison.
