Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock

This sprawling rural riding in central Ontario had been represented by Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott since 2003, making her one of the longest-serving members at Queen's Park. The riding encompasses the City of Kawartha Lakes (including Lindsay), Haliburton County, and the Township of Brock, stretching from cottage country in the north to the shores of Lake Simcoe in the south. Scott had served in the Ford government as Minister of Labour from 2018 to 2019 and then as Minister of Infrastructure until 2021. The riding's older-than-average population and lower-than-average incomes made health care and affordability particularly salient local concerns.

Candidates

Laurie Scott (Progressive Conservative) — Born and raised in the village of Kinmount in the riding, Scott is a registered nurse who trained at Loyalist College and worked at the Ross Memorial Hospital and the Toronto General Hospital. Her father, the late Bill Scott, served as a federal Conservative MP from 1965 to 1993. First elected in 2003, she had been returned in every subsequent election and held two cabinet portfolios in the Ford government.

Barbara Doyle (NDP) — Doyle served as managing director of the Kawartha Lakes Museum and Archives. She co-founded the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition to advocate against privatization and cuts to local health services, and had previously run federally for the NDP in 2019.

Don McBey (Liberal) — McBey built his career in medical, legal, and community advocacy. He had most recently served as Vice-Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. His previous roles included work as a minister with the United Church of Canada and executive director of the Hamilton Halton Counselling and Mediation Centre.

Minor candidates included Kerstin Kelly (Ontario Party), Tom Regina (Green Party), Ben Prentice (New Blue Party), and Gene Balfour (Libertarian).

Local Issues

Health care access was the dominant concern in this riding heading into the 2022 election. Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay received provincial investment for 12 new patient beds and a new operating room, but residents in smaller communities like Haliburton, Minden, and Bancroft continued to struggle with long wait times and shortages of family physicians. The Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition, co-founded by NDP candidate Barbara Doyle, had been vocal about the impact of funding constraints on rural health services.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a dramatic surge in housing prices across the riding. As remote work allowed urban residents to relocate to cottage country, average home prices in the Kawartha Lakes area jumped by over 50 percent year-over-year by early 2021. Local residents, particularly younger families, found themselves priced out of the market as out-of-town buyers leveraged equity from sales in the Greater Toronto Area. Liberal candidate Don McBey warned that Ontario risked becoming a two-tiered system of large landowners and people who could barely afford rent.

Broadband and cellular connectivity remained a persistent infrastructure gap. Many parts of the riding lacked reliable high-speed internet, limiting access to telehealth, remote work, and online education — services that had become essential during the pandemic. The provincial government had announced broadband expansion funding, but residents and candidates noted that many communities were still waiting for tangible improvements.