The Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Progressive Conservative Riding Association has confirmed three candidates for next month’s nomination meeting.
A notice posted on the riding association’s webpage confirms current Owen Sound councillor Brock Hamley, former West Grey Mayor Christine Robinson and former Meaford councillor Paul Vickers as candidates vying for the party nomination in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.
Current Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Progressive Conservative MPP Rick Byers announced in September he will not seek re-election for another term.
Members of the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Progressive Conservatives will choose their next candidate during a nomination meeting at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound on Sat. Jan, 18, 2025.
It’s possible more candidates could join Hamley, Robinson and Vickers in seeking the Progressive Conservative nomination for the riding ahead of next month’s meeting.
“Any member in good standing with the PC Party of Ontario who wishes to apply to be a candidate in the riding of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound must be approved by the Provincial Nominations Committee by 5 p.m. on December 28, 2024,” the local riding association says in a statement.
Only members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario who live in the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound riding are eligible to vote at the nomination meeting.
The province’s next election doesn’t have to be held until June 4, 2026, but Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative party has been nominating candidates amid speculation the sitting government could send Ontarians to the polls sometime in 2025.
Hamley is currently serving his second term as an Owen Sound councillor. He was first elected in 2018. He mentions addressing the rising cost of living, bringing more doctors to the region and ensuring “seniors have timely access to services” as some of his priorities, a statement from the riding association says.
Robinson was the mayor of West Grey and a Grey County councillor from 2018-22. She also previously served as the municipality’s chief administrative officer.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be an approved candidate for the nomination meeting — the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound riding is a beautiful area,” Robinson says.
Vickers served as a councillor in Meaford from 2018-22, and then had an unsuccessful run to become the municipality’s mayor. He operates a dairy farm and has been involved agriculture all his life, serving on the board of Gay Lea Foods Co-operative for 15 years.