Simcoe—Grey

Simcoe—Grey sprawls across approximately 2,515 square kilometres of south-central Ontario, stretching from the shores of Georgian Bay and Nottawasaga Bay southward into the rolling farmland of Simcoe County. The riding encompasses the municipalities of Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, The Blue Mountains, Clearview, Springwater, Essa, New Tecumseth, and Adjala-Tosorontio. The landscape ranges from the ski hills and escarpment terrain of the Blue Mountains in the northwest to the agricultural flatlands around Alliston and Tottenham in the south.

The population was approximately 145,000 as of the 2021 census, making it one of the faster-growing ridings in Ontario. The demographic profile is predominantly English-speaking and older than the provincial average, though the southern municipalities of New Tecumseth and Adjala-Tosorontio have attracted younger families commuting to the Greater Toronto Area.

Candidates

Terry Dowdall (Conservative) — Originally from Kitchener-Waterloo, Dowdall moved to the riding thirty-five years ago to buy a general store in Baxter, which he still owns. He served eighteen years in municipal politics in the Township of Essa—as councillor, deputy mayor, and mayor—and spent fifteen years as a Simcoe County councillor. He was elected County Deputy Warden in 2014 and 2016 and served three terms on the board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. First elected to Parliament in 2019, he was seeking his second term.

Bren Munro (Liberal) — Munro is a community activist, small business owner, and educator with more than twenty-five years of experience in the education sector. She holds a degree in English and Psychology from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education from Western University. Her career included oversight of the Canadian Overseas Secondary School in Hong Kong, work as a union negotiator, and service as a political researcher at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Lucas Gillies (NDP) — Gillies was the NDP candidate in Simcoe—Grey, running on a platform focused on housing affordability and healthcare access in the riding's growing communities.

Adam Minatel (PPC) — Minatel was the People's Party of Canada candidate in Simcoe—Grey, advocating for the party's positions on reduced government spending and personal freedoms.

About the Riding

Simcoe—Grey's economy is built on four pillars—tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and a growing commuter economy tied to the GTA. Collingwood and The Blue Mountains form one of Ontario's premier four-season recreation destinations, anchored by Blue Mountain Resort and drawing visitors for skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and waterfront activities. Wasaga Beach—home to the longest freshwater beach in the world at 14 kilometres—draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer. The seasonal tourism economy creates significant employment but also generates pressure on local infrastructure and housing.

Agriculture remains a major force in the riding's southern municipalities. The rich farmland around Alliston, Cookstown, and Clearview supports crop production, livestock operations, and a large Honda of Canada manufacturing plant in Alliston that has been a cornerstone employer since 1986. The plant produces Civic and CR-V models and employs thousands of workers, anchoring the local manufacturing sector.

The riding has experienced rapid population growth as families and retirees relocate from the GTA, drawn by lower housing costs and the quality of life along Georgian Bay. This growth has strained healthcare services, with residents facing shortages of family physicians and long wait times at the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital. Housing affordability has shifted from a secondary concern to a central political issue as property values have climbed sharply across the riding's most desirable communities.