TIMMINS - No matter the outcome of the April 28 election, there will be change in Timmins.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with the Governor General today (March 23) to dissolve Parliament and call a federal election, with Canadians heading to the polls in five weeks.
With a change to the boundaries and the longtime Member of Parliament not running, there will be a new face representing the region.
Since the last federal election, the riding boundaries in Northern Ontario have changed. One Member of Parliament was cut from the North in favour of adding extra representation in the south.
For the first time in two decades, Charlie Angus' name won't be on the ballot.
The veteran politician announced his retirement from politics last year. He's not going out quietly, though. He's been popping up across the country on his Resistance Tour speaking out against the U.S.-imposed tariffs.
The Candidates
So far, there are three candidates.
Former Timmins mayor and current city councillor Steve Black is running for the Liberals. He announced his nomination on Saturday night.
Nicole Fortier-Lesque is running for the NDP. Born in Opasatika, she was a teacher in Kapuskasing and is a former mayor and councillor of Moonbeam.
Conservative candidate Gaetan Malette was the first out of the gate to announce his candidacy. The retired forestry executive won the nomination in October 2023.
New Boundaries
The redrawn lines have created a massive riding geographically.
Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk starts in the Kirkland Lake area, capturing communities along Highway 11 North and extends up to Peawanuck. It has a population of 93,948.
All of the communities including in the new Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk riding are Timmins, Cochrane, Hearst, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, Moosonee, Smooth Rock Falls, Black River-Matheson, Chapleau, Fauquier-Strickland, Gauthier, Larder Lake, Matachewan, Mattice-Val Côté, McGarry, Moonbeam, Opasatika, and Val Rita-Harty. The First Nations communities included are Abitibi, Attawapiskat, Chapleau No. 74A and 75, Chapleau Cree Fox Lake, Constance Lake, Duck Lake, Factory Island, Flying Post, Fort Albany, Matachewan, Moose Factory, New Post and Peawanuck.
Englehart, Earlton, Thornloe and Elk Lake are part of the new Nipissing-Timiskaming riding.
The Polls
With a new riding and the long-time incumbent not on the ballot, there's no clear local front-runner out of the gate.
Right now, 338canada.com has the riding as a toss-up between the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP.
For the past 20 years, Timmins-James Bay has been represented by NDP. The new boundary absorbs part of the former Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding, which has also been NDP since 2008.
Federally, since Carney won the Liberal leadership, the momentum the Conservatives had over the Liberals has been closing.