Kenora

Kenora is the largest federal riding in Ontario by area, spanning roughly 320,000 square kilometres of northwestern Ontario from the Manitoba border eastward across the boreal Shield. The riding encompasses the communities of Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake, Pickle Lake, and Ignace, along with dozens of remote First Nations reserves, many accessible only by float plane or winter road. The northern reaches extend to Fort Severn on the coast of Hudson Bay.

Candidates

Eric Melillo (Conservative) was 21 years old at the time of the election, making him the youngest candidate in the race. He grew up in Kenora, attended Beaver Brae Secondary School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Lakehead University, where he founded the Campus Conservatives chapter. Before running, Melillo worked as a policy analyst at the Northern Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Thunder Bay, and served as campaign manager for Kenora—Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford.

Bob Nault (Liberal) was the incumbent MP, having returned to Parliament in 2015 after more than a decade away from federal politics. First elected as MP for Kenora—Rainy River in 1988, Nault won four consecutive terms and served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in the Chretien government from 1999 to 2003. He left politics in 2004 to establish a consulting firm before mounting his comeback.

Rudy Turtle (NDP) was the chief of Grassy Narrows First Nation, a community that has spent decades fighting the consequences of mercury contamination in the English-Wabigoon River system. Turtle joined NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Parliament Hill in the summer of 2019 to announce his candidacy, and former Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton managed his campaign. He cited growing frustration with the federal government's response to his community's environmental and health concerns as motivation for his candidacy.

Kirsi Ralko (Green Party) was a lawyer and member of Kenora City Council who carried the Green Party standard in the riding.

Michael Di Pasquale (People's Party) and Kelvin Boucher-Chicago (Independent) also appeared on the ballot.

About the Riding

Kenora's economy is built on natural resources. Forestry, mining, and commercial fishing have sustained communities for generations, while tourism centred on the Lake of the Woods and the region's thousands of lakes draws anglers, cottagers, and outdoor enthusiasts from across the continent. The riding's vast geography poses exceptional challenges for federal representation. Many communities in the northern Patricia Portion lack year-round road access, and essential services such as clean drinking water, health care, and broadband internet remain urgent concerns. At the time of the 2019 campaign, more than a dozen First Nations communities in northern Ontario remained under long-term boil-water advisories, with Neskantaga First Nation enduring the longest such advisory in the country. The opioid crisis had hit northern communities particularly hard, and inadequate housing on reserves was a persistent federal concern. Federal issues in the riding centred on the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities — including economic development, Treaty 3 governance, resource stewardship, and reconciliation — alongside broadband connectivity, health care access, and support for resource-sector employment.