Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound

This large rural riding in southwestern Ontario entered the 2025 election with an open seat after incumbent PC MPP Rick Byers announced in September 2024 that he would not seek re-election. Byers, who had been appointed as candidate for the riding without a local nomination contest in 2022, served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance and later to the President of the Treasury Board during his single term. His departure opened a competitive nomination race that was won by Paul Vickers, a dairy farmer and former Meaford municipal councillor.

The riding stretches from the Bruce Peninsula southward to Hanover and eastward toward the Blue Mountains, encompassing agricultural communities, small towns, and the regional hub of Owen Sound. Bruce Power’s nuclear generating station near Tiverton is one of the area’s largest employers, and the Bruce Peninsula draws substantial seasonal tourism.

Candidates

Paul Vickers (Progressive Conservative) — Vickers is a second-generation dairy farmer who took over his family farm at a young age. He served on Meaford municipal council from 2018 to 2022 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Meaford in the 2022 municipal elections. He was nominated as the PC candidate following a contested nomination process.

Selwyn J. Hicks (Liberal) — Hicks is a lawyer from Hanover who served on Hanover municipal council from 2006 to 2022 and was Grey County’s warden in 2019 and again in 2021–2022. He ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding in both 2007 and 2022, finishing second in 2022.

Joel Loughead (Green Party) — Loughead is a municipal councillor in the Municipality of Grey Highlands. He studied philosophy and previously worked as a wine and cider maker using ingredients from Grey and Bruce counties. He lives on a farm in the village of Kimberley.

James Harris (NDP) — Harris is a 45-year-old Owen Sound native with deep roots in the region. He has worked as a community organizer, a camera operator with ChevalierThurling Productions, and in the manufacturing sector. He has been active with community groups including Food Not Bombs and Solidarity Sundays.

Minor candidates included Ann Gillies (Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda), Vincent Grimaldi (New Blue Party), Michael Butt (Libertarian), and Matt Fritz (Ontario Alliance).

Local Issues

Rural healthcare remained the most urgent issue in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound during the 2022–2025 term. The riding’s hospital network, operated by Brightshores Health System and South Bruce Grey Health Centre across multiple small sites, faced persistent staffing shortages that affected service delivery. The shortage of family physicians in rural Ontario left many residents without primary care, forcing reliance on emergency departments for routine medical needs. All four major-party candidates identified healthcare as a top priority, with solutions proposed ranging from recruiting internationally trained professionals to expanding medical school seats and offering incentives for practitioners willing to work in rural communities.

Housing affordability, once less of a concern in rural southwestern Ontario, became a growing issue during this term. The shift to remote work during and after the pandemic brought buyers from urban centres to communities like Owen Sound, Meaford, and the Blue Mountains area, driving up property values. Younger residents and workers in agriculture, tourism, and the service sector found it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in the communities where they worked.

Energy policy carried particular local significance given the presence of Bruce Power, one of the world’s largest nuclear generating stations. The facility’s ongoing life-extension and refurbishment program represented billions of dollars in investment and thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Candidates generally supported the continued operation of Bruce Power, though the Green Party advocated for a broader transition toward renewable energy sources alongside the existing nuclear fleet.