Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry

Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry is a large eastern Ontario riding along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, stretching from the Quebec border westward through the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry. The city of Cornwall anchors the riding, while the surrounding landscape takes in the townships of South Glengarry, North Stormont, South Stormont, North Dundas, and South Dundas, as well as communities like Winchester, Morrisburg, and Finch. First-term PC MPP Nolan Quinn won the seat in 2022 after longtime incumbent Jim McDonell retired. Quinn’s first term saw a rapid rise through government ranks: he served as parliamentary assistant to the health minister, then was appointed Associate Minister of Forestry in June 2024, and was elevated to Minister of Colleges and Universities in August 2024. He entered the 2025 election as a cabinet minister seeking a second mandate.

Candidates

Nolan Quinn (Progressive Conservative) — Born and raised in Cornwall, Quinn graduated from St. Lawrence College with a diploma in business management and human resources. He operated a Dairy Queen franchise in Cornwall for 15 years and volunteered extensively with the United Way, the Children’s Treatment Centre, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation. His rapid advancement to a cabinet portfolio gave the riding unusual influence at Queen’s Park.

Devon Monkhouse (Liberal) — A realtor originally from the Ottawa Valley, Monkhouse was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate on February 7 after the previous candidate stepped down. He had lived in Toronto since 2011 but said he chose the riding because of family and personal connections to the area. He campaigned as a critic of the Ford government’s focus on Greater Toronto Area projects at the expense of rural and eastern Ontario communities.

Jeremy Rose (NDP) — A Cornwall resident and vice-president of Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 522, Rose is active in the Cornwall District Labour Council. He campaigned on healthcare worker recruitment for underserved areas, tuition-free college for skilled trades, and an Eastern Ontario economic development fund.

Nicholas Lapierre (Green Party), Stefan Kohut (New Blue Party), and Brigitte Sugrue (Ontario Party) also ran.

Local Issues

Healthcare access was a dominant theme in the riding. Cornwall Community Hospital received provincial investment during the term for expanded capacity, including funding for additional private and semi-private rooms and upgraded diagnostic imaging equipment. Winchester District Memorial Hospital also received capital for CT scan expansion. However, the broader challenge of recruiting and retaining family physicians and specialists in a largely rural riding persisted, and emergency room wait times remained a concern for residents throughout the United Counties.

Rural infrastructure featured prominently in the campaign. The province provided increased Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund grants to municipalities across the riding in 2024, directed at upgrading aging roads, wastewater systems, and municipal facilities. High-speed internet remained unavailable in many rural parts of the riding, although federal and provincial broadband investment programs were beginning to extend fibre networks into underserved areas across eastern Ontario.

Economic development and workforce challenges were also on voters’ minds. Cornwall’s position on the St. Lawrence, near both the Quebec and US borders, positioned it as a logistics and manufacturing hub, but the riding’s aging population and difficulty retaining young workers made provincial support for workforce training and post-secondary education a recurring campaign topic.