Canadians are headed to the polls to vote in the country’s next federal government.
After weeks of election speculation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it official on Sunday, asking Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and set Monday, Sept. 20 as voting day.
Less than two years after winning a minority government, the Liberals are asking voters to cast their ballots in a campaign that Trudeau says is pivotal.
“The decisions your government makes right now will define the future your kids and grandkids grow up in,” Trudeau said on Sunday morning, after meeting with Simon.
Over the next 36 days – the shortest election period allowable – candidates of all stripes will be planting their lawn signs and seeking your votes.
We’ll catch up with them all and bring you their thoughts and promises, but for today, here’s a primer on the candidates in the running.
The candidates in the Oakville riding
Liberal Party: Anita Anand
Liberal Anita Anand serves as Oakville’s current member of Parliament.
Elected in 2019, the lawyer and former law professor has served as Canada’s Minister of Public Services and Procurement. Through the pandemic, she oversaw national efforts to obtain vaccines and protective equipment.
Anand is Oakville’s first cabinet minister in about three decades and is the first Canadian of Hindu background to become a federal cabinet minister.
An Oakville resident for 17 years, Anand has served on the board of directors for Oakville Hydro, the Oakville Hospital Foundation and Lighthouse for Grieving Children.
Conservative Party: Kerry Colborne
Oakville business owner Kerry Colborne is running as the Conservative Party candidate.
Following a business career working in executive roles for large global organizations, Colborne settled in Oakville and established her own business.
A mortgage broker and owner of Force Ten Capital Management, she served two terms as chair of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. She has also sat on the board of the Oakville Arts Council, served on the town’s Heritage Advisory Committee and volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Halton.
New Democratic Party: Jerome Adamo
Jerome Adamo, who ran for the NDP in the 2019 federal election, will again seek the seat.
An early childhood educator with the Halton District School Board who describes himself as “an activist for more than three decades,” Adamo lives in Oakville with his partner and twin teenage boys.
Green Party of Canada - Oriana Knox
People's Party of Canada - JD Meaney
Candidates in the Oakville – North Burlington riding
Liberal Party: Pam Damoff
Pam Damoff was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Oakville North – Burlington in 2015 and re-elected in 2019.
Damoff, whose professional background is in finance and investment banking, served as Oakville’s Ward 2 councillor from 2010 to 2015.
A local cycling advocate and community organizer, Damoff has chaired the Oakville Santa Claus Parade, the Oakville Terry Fox Run and helped organize the Courage Polar Bear Dip.
Conservative Party: Hanan Rizkalla
Oakville resident Hanan Rizkalla will represent the Conservative Party.
Educated as a physician in Egypt, Rizkalla worked in medicine and in senior management roles with global medical corporations for more than two decades before immigrating to Canada.
She continues to volunteer with charitable organizations in the medical field, including Ovarian Cancer Canada and Prostate Cancer Canada.
Rizkalla is an avid trail walker who lives with her husband and three children in Oakville.
New Democratic Party: Lenaee Dupuis
Burlington resident and human resources consultant Lenaee Dupuis will represent the NDP.
Dupuis ran in the Burlington riding in the 2019 federal election, finishing third and earning 10.9 percent of the vote.
She is a member of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club International.
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People's Party of Canada: Gilbert Jubinville
Gilbert Jubinville, a bilingual certified engineering technician specializing in the design and production of technical drawings, is running for the People's Party of Canada.
An Oakville resident and father of two teenage boys, Jubinville's online bio says he represents "a growing number of Canadians tired of the ineffective lockdowns and slow erosion of our privacy and freedoms."
Green Party: Bruno Sousa
Oakville resident and marketing business owner Bruno Sousa is running for the Green Party.
Since 2007, Sousa has operated Oakville-based bitQ, a business development and marketing consulting firm. He is also the founder and director of Brockton Collective, a collective facilitating creative productions, events and collaborative projects.
Sousa has served on the board of directors of Drawn to Develop and the Oakville Gymnastics Club.