Timiskaming—Cochrane

Timiskaming—Cochrane’s veteran NDP MPP John Vanthof entered the 2025 election as one of the longest-serving members of the NDP caucus, having held the sprawling northern riding since 2011. During the 2022–2025 term, Vanthof served as the NDP’s Opposition House Leader and critic for Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, after having previously served as the party’s Deputy Leader. He was a persistent voice on highway safety, raising the alarm about fatal collisions on northern highways and the province’s oversight of commercial driver training. The snap election brought a tight contest, with the PCs fielding Iroquois Falls mayor Tory Delaurier in an effort to flip the seat.

Candidates

John Vanthof (NDP) — Vanthof and his wife Ria operated a dairy farm near Earlton from 1984 to 2012. He served for over twenty years on the Temiskaming Dairy Producer Committee and on the Board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario, where he played a role in preventing the closure of Thornloe Cheese. As MPP, he served as NDP Deputy Leader and subsequently as Opposition House Leader, while continuing as critic for Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.

Tory Delaurier (Progressive Conservative) — Delaurier, 49, had served as mayor of Iroquois Falls since 2021 and was elected to the post in 2022, having previously served as a town councillor for seventeen years. He campaigned on road safety and healthcare access, citing the need for highway investments and the recruitment of healthcare professionals to the region.

Rick Ellsmere (Liberal) — Ellsmere was a resident of the Englehart area who worked as a volunteer firefighter, public works operator, and CASARA member. He emphasized the lack of doctors in the north and the poor state of highway infrastructure as his primary campaign concerns.

Kris Rivard ran for the Green Party and Stephen MacLeod for the New Blue Party.

Local Issues

Highway safety was the most urgent local issue during the 2022–2025 term. Vanthof brought the issue repeatedly to Queen’s Park, pointing to data showing that a vehicle registered in the Timiskaming district involved in a highway accident was four times more likely to result in a fatality than one registered in Toronto. Highways 11 and 17 cut through the riding and serve as main streets for dispersed communities, yet residents contended they lacked adequate passing lanes, winter maintenance, and enforcement. Fatal collisions drew attention to what Vanthof described as under-trained commercial drivers being allowed onto northern roads due to insufficient provincial inspection of driving schools.

Healthcare access remained a chronic concern across the riding’s small communities. Physician recruitment was a perennial challenge, with patients in towns such as New Liskeard, Kirkland Lake, Englehart, and Hearst sometimes travelling hours for specialist care or facing long waits at understaffed emergency departments. Broadband connectivity and rural infrastructure were additional frustrations for farm families and small businesses that needed reliable internet access to compete.

The riding’s economy continued to depend on agriculture, forestry, and mining. Affordability pressures, including rising fuel costs that disproportionately affected northern residents dependent on personal vehicles, remained a backdrop to the campaign. The contest between Vanthof and Delaurier underscored a broader question facing northern ridings: whether the governing PCs or the opposition NDP could more effectively advocate for the region’s needs at Queen’s Park.