For all their differences both politically and personally, all the Peterborough candidates in the federal election agree on one thing — the April 28 vote is the most consequential in recent memory.
Proof of that was clear on Tuesday night (April 8) as close to 350 people jammed the chapel at Lakefield College School for the first face-to-face showdown between the four major party candidates for the Peterborough riding: Conservative incumbent Michelle Ferreri, Liberal challenger Emma Harrison, NDP hopeful Heather Ray, and Green Party candidate Jazmine Raine.
Hosted by the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Peterborough & The Kawarthas Home Builders Association and the Central Lakes Association of Realtors and moderated by chamber vice-president Joel Wiebe, the event also gave two other invited candidates — Jami-Leigh McMaster of the People’s Party of Canada and Matthew Grove of the Christian Heritage Party of Canada — time for brief introductory statements, although they were not part of the debate.
After each major party candidate made an opening statement, Wiebe asked them questions covering a wide range of topics, ranging from their respective party’s plan to reduce home construction costs, to what initiatives and policies they propose to enhance emergency preparedness, to the support of refugees looking for safe haven in Canada, in particular here in Peterborough.
However, in light of recent unsettling events in the form of the Trump administration-initiated trade war with Canada, the candidates’ views on what Canada should do to minimize trade disruption with the United States perked up the most ears.
For her part, Harrison touted “the experience and integrity” of Prime Minister Mark Carney as being what’s needed during this tumultuous time.
“The work he’s doing now is proving that,” she said. “He’s sitting down with the provinces and breaking down interprovincial trade barriers. That’s crucial to moving things forward because we struggle as 13 different economies. We need one.”
Ferreri, meanwhile, pointed to the Conservatives’ plan to introduce a Keep Canadians Working Fund to protect workers from the effects of tariffs, noting “It’s targeted, timely, and temporary.”
“We will also renegotiate CUSMA (The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement), strengthening our sovereignty, and redirecting trade revenue to the military and tax cuts. We’re also offering no tax on Canadian-made cars.”
“Long-term though, we have to develop our resources. We should have never been put in this position of weakness and vulnerability. We have everything they (the United States) need. We have everything the world needs, but the Liberals and the NDP want to keep that energy in the ground. It’s Bill C-69. This is an anti-pipeline bill. If they (the Liberals) keep it, we can’t build the resources. We can’t get the money to be independent and sovereign.”
In her response, Ray took aim at past and current Conservative and Liberal governments.
“We put too many eggs in one basket — a basket that we thought we could trust but a basket that’s no longer working out for us,” she said, adding “It’s time to take our eggs home and put them in own baskets.”
“That’s we (the NDP) are going to do with a Build Canadian Buy Canadian plan. We’re going to make sure affordability is top of mind so we can get through this crisis together.”
Saying the Green Party “differs a little bit here,” Raine noted their party is pushing for the closure of “loopholes for large corporations to reinvest $50 billion back into our economy.”
“Yes, we can invest in our own resources, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to wind up in the Arctic,” Raine said.
“There are so many opportunities to make radical changes through important tax reform that would only impact everybody in this room in a positive way.”
Another question, which came from an audience member, asked each candidate to detail their number one priority for Peterborough.
“The priority that I’m delivering to Ottawa is the priority you bring me,” pledged Ray. “Right now, what you are telling me, is it is affordability. That’s the number one thing I’m being told. People are struggling to pay their bills.”
“Something we learned in environmental resource management is we can’t pay for things that help the environment until we have our own economy settled. We need to have money for ourselves before we can think of the environment. That’s the same for a lot of things. We need to take care of ourselves first before we can get involved in politics. We need to take care of ourselves first before we can start working. My goal is to make sure Peterborough is always at the top of that priority pile.”
Raine, meanwhile, offered two priorities: electoral reform and tax reform.
“We need to move away from the two-party system we’ve been stuck in,” they said.
“We’re paying a lot of taxes. We’re not seeing a lot of returns. We don’t feel like there’s a lot of accountability for (how) our taxes are being spent and, because our electoral system is so broken, there’s not really anything we can do about it. Who’s in office is who’s in office. We feel very disconnected and disenchanted from our political representatives.”
For Harrison, affordability tops the list.
“We need deeply affordable housing in Peterborough for students, seniors, and for the most vulnerable,” she said.
“What I hear from the most vulnerable is we also need to include wrap-around supports. It’s not enough to build houses. We need to make sure those houses are appropriate for the people who will be living in them, whether that is creating more space for their wheelchairs or needing help with a PSW.”
In her response, Ferreri went on the offensive.
“You are a reflection of what we’re seeing at the doors,” she said. “It is fatigue. It is anxiety. It is mistrust. It is overwhelmed.”
“The biggest thing that links all of that is a lack of leadership. We do not have a prime minister who has united us. We have a prime minister who has divided us. We have to restore hope, unity, and trust. We will implement an accountability bill that will ensure people are not using offshore bank accounts to escape taxes and restore accountability, which will restore affordability.”
A lot of people don’t feel informed about politics. That’s not because they don’t care.
In their closing statements, each candidate made their pitch for election, with Raine urging people to “vote for the change they want to see.”
“A lot of people don’t feel informed about politics,” Raine said. “That’s not because they don’t care. It’s not that they don’t watch the news or read news articles. They don’t believe what we’re telling them. They don’t believe we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do. Half the people that can vote show up at the polls. We don’t trust our representatives at this point.”
“If you want change, it’s the time. We can’t be living in fear. We’re not going to run from the (United) States. We’re not going to run from environmental change. We’re not going to run from making brave choices. I encourage you all to vote bravely.”
Ray, meanwhile, urged people to “vote with your heart.”
“Don’t worry about what’s happening at the national and international level,” she added. “Think about your community at home; the people you want to help and how you want to help them.”
In her summation, Ferreri summarized her party’s platform points, including a 15 per cent income tax cut, investments in the trades, the removal of the GST on home sales, no capital gains on investments in Canada, and a reduction in red tape to get expedite construction.
“I’m asking you to ask one question before you vote on April 28: What has gotten better in the last 10 years?”
The last word went to Harrison, who said her motivation for seeking election lies in her fear “for the future of my children, your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.”
“The job is to work for you, to work with the things you’d like to see, and to have a leader that we are able to work with, and who understands the threats and concerns and problems that we’re facing.”
Tuesday night’s event was the first of back-to-back debates for the candidates. They’ll square off again on Wednesday night (April 9) at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Peterborough.
Hosted by One City Peterborough in partnership with United Way Peterborough and District and the Research for Social Change Lab at Trent University, the debate’s focus will be on issues surrounding housing and homelessness. It begins at 7:30 p.m. and will also be livestreamed on the All Saints’ Anglican Church YouTube channel.
Peterborough residents will also have another chance to hear from the candidates in a more informal setting when the chamber and its same partners for Tuesday night’s debate, along with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, host “Coffee with the Candidates” from 9 to 10 a.m. next Tuesday (April 15) at the Holiday Inn in downtown Peterborough.
In the meantime, the next two-and-a-half weeks promises to be busy for each election hopeful.
Asked what her schedule looks like during the lead-up to April 28, Harrison perhaps said it best for all the candidates — “Go, go, go.”
VIDEO: Peterborough All Candidates Debate April 8th 2025
This story has been updated to include a video of the entire debate as recorded by audience member Chris Potter.
