Andrew Dowie. (Photo courtesy of the Ontario PC Party via Twitter)Andrew Dowie. (Photo courtesy of the Ontario PC Party via Twitter)
Windsor

Tecumseh councillor acclaimed as PC candidate in Windsor-Tecumseh

The Ward 1 councillor in Tecumseh has been acclaimed as the candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh.

A virtual confirmation meeting was held on Wednesday to announced Andrew Dowie as the PC Party's Windsor-Tecumseh candidate for the 2022 provincial election.

The Tecumseh councillor said if elected, his first job as MPP will be to advocate and secure Phase 2 funding for Windsor Regional Hospital's new regional acute-care hospital.

"We need a modern facility and we need it today. Clear advocacy will be first and foremost in all of my interactions with every aspect of the provincial government," he said during the virtual meeting.

Dowie was first elected to Tecumseh Town Council in 2014 and is also employed by the City of Windsor as a staff engineer. His career has also included stints in other municipal departments including engineering, transportation planning, pollution control, the chief administrative office and the mayor's office.

"I have spent my working career trying hard to deliver good value for you and some of your neighbourhood's issues," Dowie said during the meeting.

He added that while he hopes for a "job transfer" to Queen's Park, he intends to continue his "sincere effort to deliver quality service" for his constituents at the provincial level.

If elected, Dowie would become the first Conservative MPP in the local riding since 1934.

Current Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield has not yet announced his intentions for the next election. Hatfield has held the seat since he was first elected in a by-election in 2013. The NDP MPP was easily reelected in the 2014 and 2018 provincial elections.

In the riding of Essex, the Ontario PC Party also reported Wednesday night that Anthony Leardi had been chosen as the MPP candidate. The current officeholder is Taras Natyshak of the NDP, who has also not announced his plans.

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