Federal election 2015 — Sault Ste. Marie
A three-way race is expected in a riding that has flipped between the three main parties multiple times over the last four decades.
In 2011, the Conservatives captured the riding for the first time since the Brian Mulroney era, unseating long-time incumbent New Democrat Tony Martin.
This is one of the few ridings in the northeast to go through a boundary change since the last vote, with St. Joseph Island, Echo Bay, Bruce Mines and other communities to the east now covered by Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.
Kara Flannigan - Green
Flannigan carried the Green banner in the 2014 provincial election, finishing a distant fourth with 3.23 per cent of the vote. She works for Algoma Public Health and was a long-time member of the Binational Public Advisory Council for the St. Mary's River. She currently sits on the board of the Art Gallery of Algoma.
Bryan Hayes - Conservative
An accountant, small business owner and former Ontario Lottery and Gaming Employee, Hayes served on Sault Ste. Marie city council for eight years before entering federal politics. As MP, he sat on the House of Commons Standing Committee for Public Accounts as well as the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Skip Morrison - NDP
Morrison works as a crane operator at Essar Steel Algoma and is a member of United Steelworkers Local 2251. He is also a licensed financial advisor and an active community volunteer as a high school sports coach and founding member of the Sault Blues Society.
Terry Sheehan - Liberal
A long-time municipal politician who served two terms as a school board trustee and the last four terms on Sault Ste. Marie city council, Sheehan did previously run for the Liberals in the 1999 provincial election. Outside of politics, he works as an employment and training consultant for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and University.
Mike Taffarel - Marxist-Leninist
This Sault Ste. Marie steelworker is running in his fifth straight federal election for the Marxist-Leninist Party. His best result was in 2008, when he captured 81 votes.