NDP candidate in the race to win SDSG

CORNWALL – After the events of the last few months, Cornwall resident Jeremy Rose said he was not willing to stand on the sidelines any more. The 42-year old Canada Post letter carrier and father of three was acclaimed as the NDP candidate for the Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry riding.

“With the way the world is going, and my experiences the last few months, I needed to be able to see and support my community. I need to make a positive change,” Rose told The Leader.

He explained that running for the NDP was the only choice as he feels it is the only party that supports the rights of workers.

“Ask a nurse or a teacher,” he said. “The past seven years have been challenging for anyone providing services in Ontario.”

Rose highlighted some of the recent announcements by the Ontario government prior to the snap election call.

“It’s easy to make an announcement of money coming,” he said of buildings like new hospitals and schools. “But when you have taken the time to bully those who do the work, it is especially dire.”
Since being acclaimed the NDP candidate, Rose said he has been travelling around the riding and meeting residents to find out their priorities.

“People can’t get a doctor or access clinics. It speaks to the staffing shortages and burnout,” he said.

Rose said affordability is at the heart of his campaign, in housing and groceries, and that his party has the best platform for helping all Ontarians.

“The cost of rent is just not okay. Many people think it is an urban problem, but rural homelessness is a big issue in our community,” he explained.

To address housing, he pointed to his party’s pledge to build 60,000 new homes across Ontario, tied to helping against homelessness, and those with mental health issues.

Keeping with the affordability topic, Rose pitched the party’s grocery rebate, which – if the NDP form government – would go to 4 million homes to help offset the cost of groceries.

The party will also appoint a watch dog for retail customers to monitor price increases at grocery stores.

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford called the snap election to gain a four year mandate to deal with the effects of the presidency of Donald Trump in the United States. Rose agreed he had many concerns about the impact of Trump.

“Many people worry about Trump because it is such a departure from our relationship with the US. There is a fear. But Ford believing he has control over it – I would be very surprised to see that is true. To call a snap election on this – I am not seeing it.”

To deal with any tariff action by the United States, Rose said that if his party is elected, they would prioritize interprovincial trade while supporting affected industries.

“This riding has two borders – the US and Quebec. Cornwall is a big logisitics hub. We would work to make jobs more secure and with luck weather the storm. We don’t control what the US does, but we can support businesses.”

He added that the recent “Buy Canadian” feeling that has resulted from the US tariff threats is reassuring to him.

“We cannot forecast which way this is going to go. Doug thinks he has his finger on it, but I don’t think so. We have to be dynamic, listen, and be ready to help our communities with their needs.”

Rose admitted that running for the NDP in SDSG has its challenges, especially due to PC Party machine. In 2024, the PCs raised $10.6 million according to Elections Ontario data, far more than the Liberals ($2.4 million) and NDP ($2.3 million.)

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “The PC party has a big war chest. We have a virtual campaign office for this riding.”

Calling the campaign a “Grassroots initiative”, Rose said he is going to as many events as possible in the riding, and also trying to connect via virtual meetings online to meet voters and discuss their issues. He and a group of volunteers have begun door knocking in the riding, but Rose said as a letter carrier, he is cognizant of safety campaigning in the winter.

“It’s not a very genuine thing to do to call an election out of sequence at this time of year,” Rose said of Ford’s snap election call.

In the last 100 years, only two provincial general elections were held in winter, March 1981 and December 1926. The last federal general election was in January 2006.

Rose is optimistic for his chances in the riding.

“This is a big challenge,” he said. “There’s lots of information to get out. We can build on this. Though our team is small, we have an experienced and veteran volunteer team. I am grateful to have their support.”

Voters in the riding will cast their ballots on February 27.