Thunder Bay—Superior North

Thunder Bay—Superior North had been one of Ontario’s most durable Liberal seats, held by Michael Gravelle since 1995. Gravelle served in cabinet under premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne as Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Natural Resources. Weeks before the 2022 campaign began, Gravelle, then seventy-three, announced he would not seek re-election, citing a recurrence of cancer. For the first time in twenty-seven years, Thunder Bay—Superior North would have no incumbent on the ballot, creating a wide-open contest for the seat.

The NDP’s Lise Vaugeois had come close to defeating Gravelle in 2018 and was considered a strong contender to flip the riding. The Progressive Conservatives and Liberals each fielded local municipal politicians from Thunder Bay city council.

Candidates

Lise Vaugeois (NDP) — Vaugeois was an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University and held a PhD in Education from the University of Toronto. She had moved to Thunder Bay to play in the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and had been involved in Indigenous, women’s, anti-racist, and anti-poverty advocacy for over forty years. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers Support Group.

Peng You (Progressive Conservative) — You was a Thunder Bay city councillor, elected in 2018. He was a tai chi master and the owner of the Peng You Tai Chi Academy in Thunder Bay.

Shelby Ch’ng (Liberal) — Ch’ng was a lifelong Thunder Bay resident, entrepreneur, and sitting city councillor representing the Northwood ward on Thunder Bay city council. She held a degree in political science from Lakehead University and was first elected to council in 2014, winning re-election in 2018. She had initially declined a Liberal offer to run in Thunder Bay—Atikokan before agreeing to stand in this riding.

Tracey Allison Mackinnon (Green Party) — Mackinnon ran as the Green candidate. Stephen Hufnagel ran for the Ontario Party, Katherine Suutari for the New Blue Party, Andy Wolff for the Northern Ontario Party, and Adam Cherry for Consensus Ontario.

Local Issues

Healthcare was the dominant concern in Thunder Bay—Superior North heading into the 2022 election. The riding’s communities faced physician shortages, long emergency wait times, and limited access to specialist care. The opioid crisis that devastated Thunder Bay affected the riding acutely, with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit recording the highest per-capita opioid death rate in Ontario in 2021. Candidates debated the need for more treatment beds, harm reduction services, and supportive housing.

Business support and regional economic development were also top of mind for voters. The riding includes communities whose economies depend on forestry, mining, and tourism. Residents in smaller towns along the Lake Superior shoreline and in the hinterland north of the city expressed frustration with what they saw as a lack of provincial investment in northern infrastructure, including highways and broadband internet access.

Gravelle’s retirement after nearly three decades meant the riding lost a cabinet-level advocate for northern issues. Voters weighed which party and candidate could best fill that void and effectively lobby for the region’s needs at Queen’s Park. The question of northern representation in government, and the perception that southern Ontario priorities dominated provincial policy, was a recurring theme throughout the campaign.