By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Since throwing his cowboy hat into the ring as the Essex Riding Liberal candidate for the Federal Election, Chris Sutton has had a lot of conversations with the auto sector and farming communities. Through those conversations, it’s not the tariffs that people are finding concerning, it is the uncertainty.
New Liberal Leader Mark Carney has already put strategies in place for the manufacturing auto sector to protect workers and ensure they feel minimal negative impact, and to minimize loss revenue in production or farming, he said.
“We can put together a plan or a strategy that will get us through this dark time, but at the end of the day, it changes tomorrow,” Sutton commented on the uncertainty.
A lot of the produce grown here goes south of the border, Sutton noted. If that is tariffed, it dips into the farmer’s means of living and their profits.
While connecting with voters, from a campaigning standpoint, Sutton said there has been a lot of positive discussions about “Carney being the guy with the resume that is going to get us through this.”
When he speaks to others about the Liberal Leader, he hears Carney has a calming effect on people in what many call a chaotic time, giving a sense that all will be okay.
“With a labour background…when I tell you, I know what you are going through, I lived it,” Sutton said, noting he came out of the Military and went right into a millwright apprenticeship. He worked in the industry for 35-years. “I’ve gone through recessions.
“We want to bring an everyday family, working family voice to Ottawa,” he said.
Windsor-Essex is the hub of the auto sector in Canada, and has a large farming community, Sutton noted. He wants to be able to take that voice of everyday working-class families – as someone who went to work, rolling up his sleeves to turn wrenches – and go to Ottawa to look at potential impact tariffs will have on the community and families.
Another key issue is affordable housing, and Sutton noted his Party Leader has noted that is one of the hot items on their platform. “We are going to take a very aggressive approach at building homes.”
There is a need to look at how to build massive amounts of homes per year, and that WW2 strategy needs to be used, where homes are built quickly and affordably. In 2025, technology innovation can create the opportunity to do that, Sutton said. Maybe modular designs are the way to go.
In his role as Director of Public Affairs and Strategic Initiatives with the Millwright Regional Council (MRC), Sutton said his role was to represent 10,000 millwrights across Canada. He sees similarities with the MP role, with only the number of people represented changing between the two.
With the MRC, his job is to engage the government on issues directly affecting members and working members. With the NextStar EV plant locally, he noted at one time there was a plan to have 900 immigrant workers doing the work that skilled trade workers living in the area do.
They engaged MPs, Ministers, and government to note that couldn’t happen.
Sutton also spoke of the expense of childcare. Through the MRC, they put together an initiative to create more childcare facilities across Canada, close to working sites. They were to provide childcare during the construction phases of big projects and then continue after the project to serve the community.
“We really have to look at the dynamics of this election,” Sutton said, noting this election is looking like a two-horse race, Liberals against Conservatives. What he would say to voters is when they fill out their ballot, “does the party you are voting for have your best interest at heart?”
To Sutton, once that question is answered, the choice is clear.
He said Liberals are focused on strengthening the economy, reducing the cost of living, middle class tax cuts to alleviate strain and stress, creating affordable housing, keeping the social programs the previous government – working with other parties – have created, such as the dentalcare program and pharmacare, and legislation that supports union workers.
At the end of the day, it is about doing the right thing for everybody, he said, noting people need to see that there is hope.
“This is going to be okay. We are going to get through it. We will survive, and we will come out on the other side stronger, more stable, and better off in the end,” Sutton said.
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