Oakville Liberals will select a new provincial candidate November 7, for the first time in almost two decades. Until the election upset of 2018, veteran MPP Kevin Flynn had represented Oakville at Queen’s Park since 2003, and been the Liberal candidate before that, in the 1999 provincial election.
Flynn is endorsing the run of two-term municipal councillor Sean O’Meara, against the other nomination candidate, Alison Gohel, an Oakville international tax specialist and lifelong Liberal.
This nomination contest is unusual not just for the fact it is taking place against the backdrop of the Covid epidemic. “This is a unique thing for the Liberal Party of Ontario,” explains Judy Rivard, president of the Oakville Provincial Liberal Association. After being toppled from government to third-place party two years ago, only eight ridings have incumbents and the Liberal Party of Ontario is nominating over 100 candidates in the coming months. “Normally we were never in that position,” Rivard says.
The Ontario Liberals selected their new leader, Steven Del Duca, March 7, at the same convention where changes were approved in an effort to make the party membership more reflective of the demographics of the province. Memberships are now free, female candidates and those under 30 pay lower registration fees, and local outreach was mandated to recruit more underrepresented groups such as Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ in all ridings without incumbents.
Following the lead of their federal counterparts, the Ontario Liberals are aiming to have 50 per cent women candidates for the next provincial election, which could be called as early as Spring 2021 or as late as June 2022.
About Alison Gohel
If selected by local Liberals, Gohel, 41, will be helping her party achieve gender parity.
Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Gohel moved around for university, eventually landing in France, where she completed an advanced degree in international law, and worked for the accounting giant Deloitte. She returned to Canada in 2011 with her French husband, Pierre-Yves, in tow, and the couple settled in Oakville in 2013 to raise a family.
Her children are now in Grades 2 and 3, and about the same age Gohel was when she first began campaigning with her parents for the legendary federal politician Ralph Goodale. She credits her early involvement with the Goodale campaigns for her lifelong interest in politics.
“I got to see how having a wonderful MP had such a positive impact in a community,” Gohel says. Even as a sitting cabinet minister, Goodale could be found working out at the downtown Regina YMCA or chatting with constituents at public events. His example remains an inspiration. “People should be able to speak with their MP, people should be able to express their concerns,” Gohel says. "I want to run for a better Ontario where everyone is given a chance to succeed."
Boasting over 30 active volunteers, Gohel’s nomination team is tapping the experience of her mother Margaret Aitken, who coordinated volunteers for Goodale for most of his political career. The Aitkens immigrated to Canada from Scotland in the 1970s and among their first Canadian friends was Pamela Kendel, who would later become Goodale’s spouse. Gohel’s parents moved to Oakville from Saskatchewan after they retired three years ago, to be closer to the grandchildren.
About Sean O'Meara
Meanwhile, Sean O’Meara, also 41, will be running on the strength of his municipal experience and says a desire to better serve his constituents compelled him to take the opportunity to run provincially. The father of two school-age children has served Oakville as the Ward 1 Regional and Town Councillor since 2014. In that role he acted as Waterfront Parks Advisory Committee Chair, helped oversee the renovation of South Shell Park, and represented Halton on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a bilateral coalition mayors advocating for waterways restoration and protection.
“Probably 85 per cent of the concerns that come to our door as municipal leaders fall back to the province,” O’Meara says. “Overdevelopment, lack of infrastructure, safety in our schools, contract tracing -- there’s only so many times I can say my hands are tied. If we see the problem is not with us as a municipality or region, either we can continue to slam our fists on the table, or we can pick up the mantle and try to deal with the problem ourselves.”
The deadline to join the Liberal Party to help select Oakville’s next candidate passed October 21, but anyone who does not already have a provincial party affiliation can still sign up to watch the webcast of the candidate’s speeches, November 3.
Regardless of who wins the nomination, it's certain the race for the next Liberal candidate has helped local Liberals grow their ranks. Rivard says membership numbers have more than doubled since the last provincial election. She reminds anyone who is already signed up as a Liberal member that they need to register for their ballot before October 25 to vote electronically as there will be no day-of in-person voting due to Covid.