Morgan Ellerton is a mental health nurse and former diamond driller.
This year, the 33-year-old is working to add a new job to his resume: Timmins-James Bay Member of Parliament.
Ellerton is the local Conservative candidate in the Sept. 20 federal election.
Born and raised in the Englehart area, after graduating from high school Ellerton moved to Timmins and worked as a diamond driller before getting his nursing degree at Northern College.
He's a registered nurse at Timmins and District Hospital where he specializes in psychiatric mental health nursing. Primarily, he works with the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, which is a partnership between the Timmins Police Service and Timmins and District Hospital.
“We go out whenever there’s a 911 call for a mental health crisis. We attend, we complete the assessment and if they’re below the critical threshold then we can make referrals to community agencies and get supports rolling for them. Otherwise, we would convince them to come to the hospital with us,” he said.
He's always had a passion for conservatism and entered the race to be the local Conservative candidate for the 2019 federal election. The candidacy was won by Kraymr Grenke that year.
By throwing his hat in the ring that first time, Ellerton said he learned a lot about what to expect and how to better plan for the future.
He wants to be part of the change that he believes the north needs and access more funding.
"We’ve been NDP for 17 years now and we kind of see that Northern Ontario is a have-not. It seems North Bay is the cut-off line," he said.
Support for mental health and small businesses are two of the focuses for Ellerton.
With a lot of businesses shutting their doors due to the pandemic, he wants to give them the incentive and encouragement to get back to work and open new businesses.
“The unfortunate side of the pandemic is the opioid endemic and all overdoses and suicides that are happening in Timmins. That’s something that I feel really dear about. I’ve been there, I’ve done CPR, I’ve given Narcan. It’s time for a change,” he said.
COVID-19 is also playing a factor in this campaign.
Ellerton said anyone on his team who is not double vaccinated must be tested daily.
“Those measures are in place to make sure that we’re not spreading this illness and obviously we’re not shaking hands and not kissing babies,” he said.
To connect with Morgan Ellerton, find him on Facebook or visit morganellerton.ca.
The other candidates are NDP Charlie Angus, Liberal Steve Black, and PPC Stephen MacLeod.
