Federal election debate hosted by Essex County Federation of Agriculture
- Fred Groves
- Apr 22
- 3 min read
When Essex County residents go to the polls on Monday, April 28, one of the key issues they will be facing is agriculture.
In a mix of rural and urban communities, the region has a lot of farms and last week, the Essex County Federation of Agriculture (ECFA) held an all-candidates meeting at Royal Canadian Legion Br. 201 in Essex.
ECFA President Lou Guilbeault was the moderator and he posed several questions to the three candidates who attended. Some of the queries were part of a wider based Canadian Federation of Agriculture format and others came directly from those who attended the event at the Legion.
“Some of the questions were curve balls but you have to be not afraid to take those hard questions,” said Liberal candidate Chris Sutton. “I think we all learned a little bit today.”
Sutton is up against NDP candidate Lori Wightman, who like Sutton is making her first appearance on a federal ballot, Conservative candidate Chris Lewis, seeking a third term, and People’s Party of Canada candidate Jason Henry, who did not attend the debate.
“I’m here tonight because I will be representing farmers of Essex County. It’s important to reach out to people whose experiences are not mine,” said Wightman.
Lewis received 41.1 percent of the local vote back in 2021, ahead of former MP Tracy Ramsey with 31.8 percent for the NDP.
In his closing remarks, he said that life for Canadians needs to be more affordable and with honest dialogue, anything is possible.
“Nothing bad can come out of conversation. It’s been a healthy debate,” said Lewis of what was the only face-to-face challenge in Essex County for the candidates. “It’s been an honour to serve the people of Essex County the last five-and-a-half years. There’s a lot more to do.”
The attendance last Thursday night was low, not what Guilbeault expected, saying that many farmers who were planning on coming, took advantage of the nice weather to get their fields ready.
One of the questions coming from the audience was about gun control. Guilbeault said that local gun shop owners have had to lay off employees to compensate business owners who are not selling their products.
“The NDP are not going after your hunting guns. We want regulations on other guns,” said Wightman.
Sutton, responding to gun control said, “keep your hands off law-abiding hunters and sport shooters.”
Lewis said, “the program is not designed to penalize legal gun owners.”
Another question, and one of a national level and part of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s concerns, is trade issues and especially tariffs and interprovincial trade barriers.
“We need to protect our own supply chain before we go abroad, “ said Lewis. “I believe all parties believe the inter-provincial barriers need to be busted down.”
Sutton replied by saying Canadians need to stand up for themselves, build more processing plants and therefore creating jobs.
“It’s mind-boggling that we tariff ourselves. We need to get rid of that,” said Sutton.
Wightman answered, “we have to have a response that is flexible so everything can run smoothly.”
On the matter of running smoothly, all three candidates who were part of the ECFA debate were engaging, and did not hurl any insults at their opponents.
Prior to the meeting they greeted each other cordially, shook hands and mingled with those who attended.
Advance polls were held Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Federal election debate hosted by Essex County Federation of Agriculture
By Fred Groves