Elizabeth Van Houtte will be carrying the NDP banner in Simcoe North once again in 2022.
Van Houtte, a local social worker who also ran for the NDP in the last provincial election in 2018, says she is running again with the goal to better represent local families.
“I am here to fight for families and for our community,” Van Houtte said in a press release.
She says Doug Ford and the Conservatives don’t deserve a second mandate.
“During the pandemic, instead of investing in our community and the services we need, the Ford government made cuts,” said Van Houtte, who holds a Ph. D in social work and operates a private practice in Orillia providing clinical social work.
“Local businesses were forced to shut down, parents and students struggled, the cost of living shot up and our health care and seniors care was brought to its knees,” she said.
“Doug Ford was cutting before the pandemic, and he’s already gone right back to cutting. Families in Simcoe North need action now to bring down the costs, and strengthen our health care and seniors care,” she said.
John Vanthof, the NDP’s deputy leader, says Van Houtte will fight for what’s right for local families.
“The people of Simcoe North deserve an MPP who listens to them, respects them, and fights for better for them — and that’s Elizabeth Van Houtte,” Vanthof said in a press release.
He said Van Houtte will “fight to bring down the cost of bills like auto insurance and hydro, revamp seniors care so it helps our parents and grandparents preserve their quality of life.”
Van Houtte helped the NDP make significant gains in the last election, garnering 15,275 votes to finish second behind Jill Dunlop, who won the riding with 25,530 tallies among the 54,378 ballots cast.
About Van Houtte:
Elizabeth Van Houtte has developed and managed mental health services in Orillia and across Ontario and served five years on the executive board for Huronia Highlands Ontario Association of Social Workers.
Van Houtte has taught at Laurentian University, Lakehead University, Mohawk College and Georgian College and is also a community volunteer who has volunteered as lead chef at the Mariposa Folk Festival and instructed a cooking class for Orillia Community Kitchen.
Van Houtte has lived in Orillia since 2010 with her husband and 16-year-old twin daughters
