The next provincial election may be two or more years away, but that doesn't mean campaign maneuvering can’t happen.

Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Steven Del Duca appeared in Thunder Bay on January 7 to release the details of his Ontario North Action Plan. The plan calls for expanding the Trans-Canada highway to four lanes across its entire length, building critical infrastructure, enhancing health care services, and reversing the current government’s funding cuts.

Alongside Del Duca was MPP Michael Gravelle, who formally endorsed the former MPP and director of public affairs for the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario for the Liberal leadership. Gravelle is now the first sitting MPP to endorse any candidate in the race to succeed interim party leader John Fraser. The leadership vote will be held in March.

“I am happy to endorse Steven Del Duca for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party,” said Gravelle. “He’s a true partner of the north. Whether it’s committing to increased investments in roads and bridges, increasing access to doctors, or delivering reliable and affordable high-speed internet access across the province, the plan he has put forward as part of this leadership contest is a progressive one that will support so many across the province.”

Del Duca’s Ontario North Action Plan makes a number of commitments. In it, the candidate calls for the expansion of the Trans-Canada Highway from two lanes to four across its entire length. Del Duca is proposing a cost-sharing partnership between the federal and provincial governments to fund the expansion.

In addition, the plan calls for supporting projects that drive development and electrification in the remote north, and establishing a dedicated community infrastructure fund for northern and on-reserve communities. Del Duca would commit to the full completion of the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project, and to ensuring all Northern Ontarians have access to high-speed broadband internet coverage.

Further investments would fund construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the north, creating a $100 million infrastructure fund to help communities build climate resiliency, empowering community groups to coordinate regional transit planning, and establish Community Economic Development Credits and Opportunity Zones in rural communities in Northern Ontario. 

The candidate also wants to ensure that all Northern Ontario residents have access to a nurse practitioner or doctor within 48 hours when required, increase the Northern Ontario Energy Credit and expanding eligibility for this benefit, reverse the current government’s cuts to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, and establish Northern Ontario as the headquarters of government agencies and ministries.

“My Ontario North Action Plan will make it better to live in Thunder Bay and Northern Ontario,” said Del Duca. “What I’ve heard from residents is that they want access to healthcare, they want to be able to travel safely between communities, they want access to highspeed internet and they want to see the Northern economy flourish and grow. The Ontario North Plan accomplishes all those things and more.”