Timmins—James Bay

Stretching across roughly 100,000 square kilometres of northeastern Ontario, Timmins—James Bay ranked among the largest federal ridings in the province. The district reached from the gold-mining city of Timmins northward through boreal forest and muskeg to the shores of James Bay and Hudson Bay, taking in the towns of Kapuskasing, Hearst, Cochrane, Kirkland Lake, and Smooth Rock Falls. Remote Cree and Ojibway First Nations—including Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, and Moose Factory—accounted for a significant share of the riding's population. Francophone communities were concentrated in Kapuskasing and Hearst, while Timmins itself served as the regional hub for healthcare, commerce, and government services.

Candidates

Charlie Angus (NDP) — The incumbent MP, first elected in 2004. Angus was born in Timmins and moved to Toronto in 1973, where he co-founded the punk band L'Étranger in 1980. He later returned to northern Ontario and settled in Cobalt with his family, launching HighGrader magazine in 1995, a publication celebrating northern Ontario life and culture. In Parliament, he became a leading voice on First Nations issues and co-founded the Shannen's Dream campaign for equitable school funding in Indigenous communities.

Todd Lever (Liberal) — A Timmins lawyer who had served on Timmins city council before running unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014. Lever entered the federal race as a locally known figure with municipal governance experience.

John P. Curley (Conservative) — A veteran municipal politician who represented a Porcupine-area ward on Timmins city council for over two decades. Curley had spent much of his career in the mining industry and was active in community organizations, including serving as past president of the Ontario Good Roads Association.

Max Kennedy (Green Party) — A high school math and science teacher in the Timmins area who brought an environmental perspective to the race, focusing on climate change and sustainable resource development.

About the Riding

Gold mining built Timmins more than a century ago, and the resource sector continued to anchor the regional economy heading into the 2015 election. Active gold mines operated in and around the city, while forestry—including pulp and paper operations in Kapuskasing and Smooth Rock Falls—remained a significant employer despite years of contraction. The Victor Diamond Mine near Attawapiskat, which had provided jobs for Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers alike, was still in production but had a finite projected lifespan, raising concerns about the riding's economic future once the deposit was exhausted.

The vast distances within the riding created persistent challenges for service delivery. Communities along the James Bay coast lacked year-round road access, relying on winter ice roads and air transport. Attawapiskat had declared a state of emergency over its housing crisis in 2011, drawing national attention to overcrowded and deteriorating homes. Boil-water advisories affected several First Nations in the riding, and access to healthcare in remote communities depended on nursing stations with limited capacity. The Timmins and District Hospital served as the regional medical centre, but recruitment of physicians and nurses to northern postings remained difficult.

The proposed Ring of Fire mineral development in the James Bay lowlands—a massive chromite deposit—was a subject of intense debate during the campaign. Proponents argued it could generate thousands of jobs and transform the regional economy, while several First Nations in the area had declared a moratorium on development, citing environmental concerns and the need for meaningful consultation. Infrastructure to access the remote deposit, including potential roads through wetlands, raised further questions about cost and ecological impact.