West Nipissing Ouest – Sturgeon Falls, Verner, St Charles, Field and Area News KIRKLAND LAKE – The Northern Ontario Party made history in the riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane, Saturday as the fledgling party elected it first local official riding association.
On Saturday, the party met for the first time in Kirkland Lake and out of that came not only the election of its first official riding association, but the local candidate who will run in the next provincial election.
Shawn Poirier of Temiskaming Shores will carry the party’s banner in Timiskaming-Cochrane for the next provincial election. Poirier, who is a truck driver by trade also has deep roots in Kirkland Lake. He was born here and still has many family members in town.
“We are making history for Northern Ontario,” Poirier stated. It’s a big milestone, a big step. Its all for Northern Ontario and that is what we want to do here,” he added.
In the past, when it came to politics, Poirier said he always helped out from behind the scenes, but he felt it was time to come out of the shadows and put his name forth as a candidate.
“It hit me when I started to see businesses closing and as a person that usually helped out behind the scenes with other political parties, I decided to take the challenge and step up to the front to try and bring these businesses back. This is home and it is said to see things closing down and moving south and families packing up and going south.”
He added party leader Trevor Holliday had a big influence on him as well.
“With Trevor coming up with his energy and leadership, he is just like me. He has a family. He is paying bills too, has a full time job. He is out there for northerners, It is his passion and for me Northern Ontario is my passion and my home.”
There is less than a year and a half before the next election and Poirier realizes that now he is a candidate the work has just begun.
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