Good looks to change riding for the better

SDG – Liberal Party candidate Sarah Good wants to make sure the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry riding is no longer forgotten. The single-term Cornwall city councillor spoke with The Leader to talk about why she is running for the Liberal Party, and how a party that has been in power for nine years deserves another term.

“I bring a strong voice and a unique perspective to the job,” said Good, explaining why she was the right person to be the riding’s next Member of Parliament. “As a mother, and as someone who has been working in the area all my career, I know what it’s like to be living off a pay cheque. I’ve worked real jobs.”

Good has spent most of her career in social services, but worked in food service, retail and in construction. She said her experiences ground her to the needs of the riding. Her time on Cornwall council adds to that.

“I have proven myself the last two-and-a-half years on city council,” Good said. Good was the top vote getter for the 11-person city council in 2022.

While council is demanding, she said has been successful in balancing the heavy work load from council with her day job and family commitments. Being connected to constituents is important and part of why she is running.

“I’m a people person. I like to be very accessible. When I was first elected, I gave out my personal cell phone number – I still do,” she explained. “I answer that number when people call. It’s part of my effort to be accessible. There is no barrier that people have to cross to either air their grievances, or give their ideas for change.”

The Liberal Party elected Mark Carney as leader of the party, replacing Justin Trudeau. On the night of the Liberal Leadership announcement, Good announced her intention to run, in part because of his winning the leadership. She said she was confident that the change in leadership was right for the party and for the country.

“Mark Carney has given the party a revitalization. We’ve seen in a the few short weeks that he has been Prime Minister how well he has led the country,” Good explained. “When we are looking at the economic crisis that we are facing, there is no other leader that I would want to see guiding us through this than Mark Carney.”

The party’s full election platform has not been released yet, but Good said announcements so far like the Build Canada plan to rapidly increase housing construction were “promising.” Whether changing leaders was enough change, Good said it was understandable that Canadians were frustrated with the Liberal government under Trudeau. That has changed now that he has stepped down.

“We’ve even seen MPs who were not going to run, choosing to run again,” Good said adding that the support she has seen in the riding has been “phenomenal.”

Looking at riding issues, Good said it feels like the riding has been neglected and pointed to programs like the Housing Accelerator Fund.

“We are not getting those dollars here where they need it,” she said. “It’s difficult to access the funds of a party in power, when your party is in opposition. That’s not to say that it can’t be done, but you have to have a willingness as an MP to say you are going to put your party aside and actually support the constituents, regardless of who’s in power.”

Good continued that issues with housing and homelessness need to be addressed.

Supporting the agriculture sector, especially in protecting the Supply Management system is important Good said. “Especially with the tariff war started by U.S. President Donald Trump.”

Economic development is another priority.

“Whether you are looking at Cornwall or in the Counties, small businesses are really struggling to maintain their competitiveness. I think supporting small businesses is key, because that money goes right back into our local communities.”

Good said that with a new leader and a change in direction by her party, there have already been positive effects for Canadians. This included removing the Carbon Tax for consumers. She said there is still a need to keep a tax on carbon in some form for industrial production for good reason – trade.

“In order for us to effectively facilitate these trading relationships that we’re trying to foster with places like the European Union union, we need to have some form of pricing on carbon to avoid being tariffed in those trading relationships. So it needs to be very strategic.”

While the party changed course for carbon pricing, she said there were no indications that there will be changes to programs launched by the Trudeau government including the Canada Child Benefit, $10 per day child care, or the National Dental program.

Good is well known in Cornwall, and is no stranger to the Counties despite not having a public profile before the federal campaign. She grew up in Lancaster, left for school, and settled in Cornwall.

“I come from a long linage of multiple generations of people who have been in this region. I came back here after university because I felt that this the place that I wanted to grow my career and build my family.”

Good said that when it comes time to vote, it is important to balance the potential gains or losses voting for one party or another.

“I appreciate the moral dilemma and the feeling after nine years of the Liberals of wanting something different. The alternative – the grass isn’t greener on the other side. When you consider how divisive the rhetoric coming from the Conservative Party has been, I worry that it is going to further divide us and make us weak in facing these existential challenges that we’re facing.”

In her final pitch to readers, Good said that she had a strong desire to give back to the community.

“I am a very hard working, strong, capable person who is very glad to take on this role, and Mark Carney exemplifies hardworking, intelligent, strong leadership. I know I would represent SDG well and it would be the greatest privilege of my life to earn the MP position. We have a strong leader and a strong new party. I hope I can be part of mobilizing all those new funds and programs to strengthen SDG and make sure we are no longer forgotten.”