Northumberland—Peterborough South

Stretching from the Lake Ontario shoreline communities of Cobourg and Port Hope northward through Campbellford and into the rural townships of southern Peterborough County, Northumberland—Peterborough South is a riding defined by agriculture, small-town commerce, and a growing retiree and commuter population. David Piccini of the Progressive Conservatives had held the seat since 2018 and entered the 2025 campaign as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, a portfolio he assumed in September 2023. During his time as minister, he shepherded the Working for Workers Four Act through the legislature, which introduced measures such as salary disclosure requirements in job postings and protections against employer wage deductions for stolen property. The riding’s electorate, a blend of lakeside retirees, agricultural families, and newer residents drawn from the Greater Toronto Area by comparatively affordable housing, offered varied terrain for challengers seeking to unseat the two-term incumbent.

Candidates

David Piccini (Progressive Conservative) — Raised in Port Hope, Piccini worked as an international market analyst at Agriculture Canada and later served as a policy advisor in federal government offices before joining the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. First elected in 2018 at age 29, he served as Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks before being appointed Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development in September 2023.

Dorothy Noronha (Liberal) — A high school teacher at Cobourg Collegiate Institute, where she taught business and leadership courses and coached the senior boys’ basketball team, Noronha had lived in Northumberland County for more than twenty years. Before entering education, she worked in employee benefits and pension consulting, wealth and estate planning, and health care sector marketing. She was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Northumberland—Peterborough South.

Bruce Lepage (NDP) — A retired educator who taught physics, general science, philosophy, and history for over thirty years, Lepage served as the International Baccalaureate Coordinator at Cobourg Collegiate Institute from 2007 until his retirement in 2022. He and his wife moved to Port Hope in 1999 and then to Cobourg in 2003.

Maxwell Groves (Green Party) — Groves carried the Green Party banner in the riding, campaigning on environmental sustainability and community investment.

Joshua Chalhoub ran for the New Blue Party and Florian Bors for the Ontario Party.

Local Issues

Health care access remained the dominant local concern throughout the 2022–2025 term. The riding’s aging population placed growing demands on Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg and Campbellford Memorial Hospital, while family physician shortages persisted in smaller communities across the riding. The Ontario Health Coalition reported record numbers of temporary emergency department closures at rural hospitals across the province during 2023, intensifying anxiety about the adequacy of health care infrastructure in communities far from major urban centres. The provincial government’s 2024 More Convenient Care Act, which proposed merging the Peterborough and Northumberland County public health units, added a further dimension to the health care debate, with some residents concerned about the consolidation’s impact on local service delivery.

Housing affordability and homelessness also grew more visible during the inter-election period. Northumberland County purchased a 47-bedroom complex on Division Street in Cobourg in late 2023, partnering with Transition House to modernize shelter services and expand capacity for people living unsheltered. Despite these investments, the county’s community rental housing waitlist remained long, with applicants waiting years for placement. Meanwhile, a reduction in provincial Homelessness Prevention Program funding announced in early 2024 raised alarms among local housing advocates who argued the cuts would undermine progress made on supportive housing initiatives.

The riding’s agricultural economy continued to face challenges from rising input costs and labour shortages, while rapid population growth driven by GTA out-migration strained municipal infrastructure including roads, water, and wastewater systems. The tension between preserving the riding’s rural character and accommodating growth remained a persistent undercurrent in local politics.