Discover Narcity
Get the latest and greatest stories every day in your inbox.
Marando pitches northern investment in leadership bid
He would redirect funding from Highway 413 to northern roads and health care.
Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Dylan Marando says Northern Ontario should receive more health care funding per resident and more highway investment to meet needs he argues Queen’s Park is overlooking.
In an interview with the Miner and News, Marando outlined proposals he would pursue if he became premier, including a northern economic opportunity zone and a dedicated treatment centre in Northwestern Ontario.
The zone would offer lower personal and corporate income taxes, faster project approvals and higher per-capita investment in public services. Its boundaries and the details would be developed with northern communities.
“The north makes a unique economic contribution to our province, and that contribution isn’t always captured by the policy agenda of Queen’s Park.”
Marando said that consultation would include municipal leaders and representatives from the public and private sectors. He suggested communities north of the French River as one possible basis for the zone, rather than a settled boundary.
Northern highways
Marando would seek to twin as much of Highways 69, 11 and 17 as possible, while considering a 2+1 design where engineering challenges, costs or community concerns make twinning less practical.
He did not specify which stretches of Highways 11 and 17 would take priority or when construction would begin.
He said highway expansion would improve safety, access to services and the movement of goods. To help pay for it, he would redirect resources from Highway 413 and the proposed tunnel beneath Highway 401, neither of which he would pursue.
He also said major southern highway investments would wait until meaningful progress had been made on twinning the major northern routes.
“I’d rather start with twinning, twin as much as we can and then have 2+1 as the backup rather than the default.”
Marando acknowledged some communities may favour 2+1 as a faster or more affordable option and said he would be open to that approach where it meets local needs.
Health care and treatment
Marando said northern hospitals and other health care facilities need funding formulas that account for the higher cost of delivering services in northern and rural communities.
He would pair increased funding with provincial support for recruitment incentives and more opportunities to train health care workers through northern colleges and universities.
“Hospitals and other health care facilities in the north should expect an increase in funding.”
He said the workforce challenge extends beyond doctors and nurses to personal support workers, custodial and kitchen staff, clerical workers and other health professionals.
Asked about reliance on agency nurses and other temporary staff, Marando said the Ford government’s staffing and funding approach is hurting hospitals’ ability to recruit and sustain services. He did not outline a specific plan to replace agency staffing.
Marando also opposed the expansion of privately delivered, publicly funded health care and said he wants private, for-profit providers out of long-term care and seniors care.
“I would treat universality and public financing of our health care system as absolute bedrocks.”
According to the province, Ontario’s community surgical and diagnostic centres deliver OHIP-insured services outside hospitals and cannot charge patients for insured services. They may also offer uninsured services.
Marando’s platform calls for publicly funded psychotherapy, counselling, addiction treatment and other evidence-based mental health services under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
When asked whether he would support a dedicated treatment centre in Northwestern Ontario, he replied, “The short answer is absolutely.”
He said recruitment incentives and expanded northern training opportunities would help staff a centre, although he did not identify a location, opening date, or budget.
His addiction proposals also include banning online gambling, rather than only its advertising.
Housing and community safety
Marando said addressing homelessness requires more supportive, co-operative, non-profit and public housing, alongside mental health care and addiction treatment.
He would give Ontario municipalities revenue equivalent to one percentage point of the HST, describing it as permanent, predictable funding that would strengthen their ability to respond to local needs.
“There isn’t a neat and tidy answer to the challenge of homelessness.”
Asked about reducing crime beyond expanding jail capacity, Marando said his approach would focus on the opportunities available to young people, including keeping them in school, improving graduation rates and helping them move into post-secondary education and employment.
“Gangs don’t compete with other gangs. Gangs compete with our schools.”
He criticized government advertising promoting expanded jail capacity and said the province should work toward reducing the need for prisons.
Development and affordability
Asked to assess Greg Rickford’s performance as minister of Indigenous affairs and First Nations economic reconciliation, Marando declined to discuss his individual record. He instead criticized the Ford government’s focus on the Ring of Fire and its approach to consultation.
Marando said the province should pursue economic opportunities across the north and allow more time for Ring of Fire development if that is needed to build partnerships with First Nations.
The Ontario government says it has partnership agreements with Aroland, Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations as part of its Ring of Fire infrastructure plans, and describes First Nations as partners in northern development.
Marando said his proposal to speed up approvals would require more resources for consultation and regulatory review, not less.
“The speed that I’m talking about isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about devoting more resources to the consultative process and the regulatory approval process so that we can arrive at genuine partnership faster.”
On affordability, Marando proposes provincial income tax relief for Ontarians under 35 earning under $50,000. Asked what he would offer older residents, he pointed to extending rent controls to all buildings and sales tax relief on necessities such as internet and cellphone service.
He also proposed eliminating provincial corporate income tax for small businesses during their first five years of operation, saying he hopes they would pass some savings on to consumers.
Marando did not provide an overall cost or financing plan for his proposals during the interview. He identified cancelled southern highway projects as a source of funding for northern highway expansion.
The Ontario Liberal Party is scheduled to announce its next leader Nov. 21.
Copyright 2026, Kenora Miner & News. All rights reserved.
Pam Fedack, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kenora Miner & News.
Keep reading
Show less
Quebec police investigating after man in 40s killed in Sorel-Tracy, Que.
Man in his 40s killed in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Quebec provincial police are investigating after a man in his 40s was killed Tuesday evening in Sorel-Tracy, Que., northeast of Montreal.
Police say emergency services were called around 9:30 p.m. to Chemin des Patriotes, where a man had been shot.
The victim was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made.
Provincial police said it launched an investigation, but declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the murder or a possible motive.
Though police confirmed that there have been several cases of arson near the murder scene in recent days, they said it's too early to establish any links.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Keep reading
Show less
New southern resident killer whale calf spotted in waters near B.C.
Calf born to southern resident killer whale pod
The endangered southern resident killer whale population has increased by one after a calf was spotted in waters near British Columbia.
The Center for Whale Research says in an email statement that the new calf was first spotted on Monday with its mother, designated J35 by researchers.
The centre's researchers then spotted the mother and calf again on Tuesday and determined the "very young" whale is a male likely less than a week old.
The calf has been designated J65 and is J35's sixth documented calf, her first being born in 2010.
The centre says J35 previously lost calves, and was seen carrying a dead calf for 17 days in 2018, while another calf born in 2024 did not survive.
Researchers say J65 shows no health issues and is "moving well, socializing, and nursing," but only about half of all calves survive their first year.
Another southern resident, J31, was spotted with a dead calf earlier this month near Sombro Point on Vancouver Island.
The centre says that as of July, the population of Southern Residents was 76.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Keep reading
Show less
Rafaëlle Roy commente les interventions à propos de son bébé et revient sur ses paroles
« C'est juste tannant d'avoir constamment des remarques du genre. »
Après avoir partagé une vidéo de son bébé Milo lors d'une sortie dans un magasin, sur ses réseaux sociaux, Rafaëlle Roy a reçu des messages lui expliquant que son garçon n'était pas bien attaché dans sa poussette. Dans une série de stories sur Instagram, Rafaëlle a ensuite répondu aux commentaires qu'elle reçoit et a finalement rectifié le tir après quelques échanges avec sa communauté.
Dans sa réponse aux interventions, la jeune maman a expliqué que les gens n'avaient pas à s'inquiéter, bien qu'elle comprenne le désir qu'ont ses abonné.es de l'informer :
« Je le sais que personne intervient avec des mauvaises intentions, mais ayez confiance en notre jugement […]. C'est juste tannant d'avoir constamment des remarques du genre. »
Quelques heures plus tard, Rafaëlle a partagé un nouveau message où elle souhaite revenir sur ses paroles puisqu'elle ignorait qu'il était important de bien attacher son bébé en tout temps, même s'iel n'est pas en voiture, afin de réduire les risques d'asphyxie positionnelle :
« [Deux] personnes ont pris la peine de rectifier en me mentionnant ceci! Alors la gang, je reviens sur mes paroles - C'est bien correct vos interventions bienveillantes. C'était une petite accumulation, car suite à ma dernière publication, les gens pensaient que mes enfants faisaient face à l'avant dans l'auto et je recevais une tonne de remarques donc il a fallu que j'explique! »
« Je n'aurais pas voulu ne pas le savoir parce que je n'aime pas qu'on intervienne pour m'informer… You know? », ajoute la chanteuse.
Après avoir partagé quelques ressources supplémentaires pour aller chercher davantage d'informations sur le sujet, Rafaëlle a spécifié que le but de ses stories n'était pas de lancer une discussion, mais plus tôt d'apprendre :
« Ne partons pas de débat, c'est propre à vous. Si ça ne vous tente pas, suite à ces informations, d'attacher votre enfant tout le temps, si ça ne vous tente pas de changer quoi que ce soit, il n'y a zéro stress. Moi, c'est venu me chercher, je partage l'information, mais moi je pense que c'est mieux qu'on le sache puis qu'on prenne nos propres décisions en toute connaissance de cause. »
Elle a terminé en souhaitant une bonne soirée à tous.tes et en disant qu'elle ne s'attendait pas à lancer un tel débat.