Like many Northern Ontario ridings, Thunder Bay – Superior North has a very defining quality – in terms of landmass, it’s huge.
Former MPP Jim Foulds says he still doesn’t know how politicians can get around the massive riding. Foulds ran for the NDP in 1971 and served as the MPP for the then Port Arthur riding for 16 years. He served as the party's education critic from 1971 until 1977 where he then became the natural resources critic.
The 74-year-old has left active politics for the most part, but remains a member of the NDP. Since his time as an MPP his riding and politics have changed.
“When I was an MPP, there were five ridings in Northwestern Ontario,” Foulds said. “I had, in terms of territory, a relatively easy job. The other riding was the Lake Nipigon riding that NDP Jack Stokes held for much of the time I was an MPP. In effect, we had two representatives covering the distance that MPPs now have to cover with one representative. I think that’s a crying shame.
“I frankly don’t know how any of the representatives do it. It doesn’t matter which party they belong to they all work hard and a lot of the it’s time on the road. I honestly don’t know how they do it.”
When he was a teacher in Armstrong in the ‘60s, Foulds said Doug Fisher, the MP at the time, was lucky to make it to the city once every three years since the only way to get into the town was by train.
“Even though the population is small, (northerners) are underrepresented because it is relatively easy to cover the downtown Toronto riding but geographically it is virtually impossible in a riding like Thunder Bay – Superior North or Kenora,” he said.
The formation of Thunder Bay – Superior North started when the two former ridings of Port Arthur and Nipigon amalgamated in 1999. Since then Michael Gravelle has represented the riding for the Liberal Party.
For Foulds, being an MPP is one of the most frustrating and rewarding jobs. It was frustrating because of the long hours and lost battles, but it was rewarding to do a job that helped a lot of people.
Politics have changed since he’s been involved.
If he were a politician again, he said he would be using Facebook and Twitter to help do his job. But he still has doubts about how affective the social media sites could be at interacting with people. For him, the best method is the tried and true door-to-door canvassing.
“I think there are a number of differences but some things stay the same.”
Foulds added that he has enormous admiration for anyone who goes into politics, especially now that it has become more scrutinized.
“I think we all should be thankful that anybody is willing to do that job.”
Lakehead University associate professor Laure Paquette said Thunder Bay – Superior North has historically been a politically left riding.
In the last two elections, the Liberal Party and NDP remained the top two parties in the riding. The last time the Progressive Conservatives reached second place was in 1985 when Swede Johnson ran.
“It’s a fight between the liberals and the NDP that’s clear in my mind,” Paquette said of the upcoming provincial election.
“I think the people that run for the Tories and the greens are people who are important because they affect what is being discussed during an election but I think the fights between the liberals and the NDP. The big picture is that the north is trending left and it’s true in this riding as well.”
What made Thunder Bay – Superior North different from other ridings was that the MPP also served as a cabinet minister.
“There’s this long history in the North about being disgruntled because the Ontario government makes decisions for Toronto by Toronto but we had a cabinet minister so we expected that to change,” she said. “To some extent, the vote in Superior North is going to be a referendum on whether or not they are satisfied with the liberal government.”
She said the fight for Thunder Bay – Superior North is going to be a close battle and added she’s never seen so many billboards in the fight for this riding.
Those billboards are an indication that candidates are worried. It could also mean that they all have more money to play with in this campaign.
“Thunder Bay – Superior North is unique because it has a cabinet minister as an incumbent, so it is interesting to see what happens with a fight like that.”
“If the Liberals are defeated and they lose a cabinet, that’s considered a very big loss. Not saying that’s going to happen but if it does, that will attract the eye.”
