What was meant to be a friendly meet-and-greet for federal election candidates in the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding turned tense Wednesday night, after Conservative incumbent Doug Shipley raised concerns about a campaign letter circulated by Liberal candidate Dr. Rose Zacharias.
The letter, titled Canada Strong, was sent to residents by the Liberal team and, according to Shipley, painted him in a negative and misleading light. Specifically, Shipley said the letter implied he supports a “MAGA-style” political approach, comparing his values to those of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We can debate policy,” Shipley said at the event. “But we don’t need to bring divisive, fearful, angry tones into this. There’s too much of that stateside.”
Shipley, who was first elected 15 years ago, said he had hoped for a more respectful campaign and had personally reached out to other candidates before the race began, vowing to keep things positive and policy-focused.
“I was disappointed to see that in this campaign,” he said. “This campaign took a negative tone in the form of a letter written to many residents.”
Zacharias, a former president of the Ontario Medical Association and first-time federal candidate, called Shipley’s reaction confusing.
“Doug Shipley’s comments last night were a surprise to me. I don’t know what he was referring to,” she told CTV News on Friday.
Zacharias defended her campaign, stating she is proud of its tone and messaging. “All of the communication from my campaign office has been very clear about its messages. This is an election of our lifetime, and we want our country to be strong.”
The Liberal candidate spent Friday door-knocking in the rain, continuing efforts to connect with voters and build trust in the community.
“Doing right by the people in my community when we all know the question on the ballot box and that’s who is going to stand strong for Canada? Who is going to stand strong for Canada when we have the threats of Donald Trump? And in my opinion, that’s Mark Carney,” Zacharias said.
One day after the tense meet-and-greet both candidates appeared to be focused on moving past the incident with only a few days left until election day.
“We need to get back to being respectful toward each other,” Shipley said. “We can have healthy debate without making it personal.”
With just days remaining before voters head to the polls, both campaigns are expected to spend the weekend canvassing hard, aiming to make their final pitch to residents of the riding.
Voters will head to the polls for election day on Monday.
