A 41-year-old man who was laid off as a truck driver for a construction company is running for the People’s Party of Canada in Timmins-James Bay in the Sept. 20 federal election.
Stephen MacLeod lives near Englehart, in the southeast corner of the vast riding that stretches up to James and Hudson Bays.
He says he used to be a Conservative, but over the years saw that party slowly swinging the way of the Liberals.
Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party has the vision and goals that line up with MacLeod’s.
“And then when this year I found out that there was an open candidacy,” MacLeod comments, “I was encouraged by friends and family to run for it, and here I am today.”
The big issue for the riding and the entire country, he says, is the treatment of indigenous communities. The PPC wants to replace the Indian Act and restore the indigenous voice and freedoms.
“We want to bring respect back to them. We want to respect the constitution and the treaties. We want to make sure we can improve natural resources and infrastructure for them, because a lot of communities don’t even have proper drinking water.”
