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Stratford city councillor nominated as Perth-Wellington provincial NDP candidate

'I really believe that I do have a great opportunity to show people there is an alternative:' says Jo-Dee Burbach
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Jo-Dee Burbach spoke at a press conference ahead of the Perth-Wellington nomination meeting where she received endorsement from party leader Andrea Horwath.

PERTH-WELLINGTON – Perth-Wellington’s recently acclaimed NDP candidate said the riding is ready for better than what’s been offered by the current Ford government. 

Jo-Dee Burbach, currently a Stratford city councillor, was officially nominated on Sunday to run as an NDP for the 2022 provincial election.

Burbach said in a phone interview as a councillor she has seen and heard how families are struggling with the rising cost of food, housing, and grappling with the reality of climate change. 

“I’m a parent with kids in public education, so I’ve seen the impact of the cuts that the province has made to the education system,” Burbach said. “I’m a daughter with elderly parents and I do worry about the state of long-term care and the safety of our elders.”

Before entering the political realm, Burbach has a part in multiple entrepreneurial endeavours from working as a graphic designer, communications work and formerly running a Stratford arts magazine. 

This is her first term as a councillor in Stratford. She said she ran because she has a lot of ideas about how communities can be better and serving as a politician is a way she can bring hers and other ideas to the forefront. 

She said she is looking to take that further at the provincial level. 

She explained she will have to take a leave of absence when the writ drops in 2022 and if she is elected would resign from council. 

She acknowledged the riding is challenging as it is large and has a mix of larger urban centres and vast rural areas. However, she said she believes a lot of concerns are universal. 

“The focus that the NDP have is really on hard working families,” Burbach said. “We find them throughout rural areas, throughout urban areas. We have common frustrations and we also have common goals and interests.”

Historically, the riding was Liberal when it was first contested in 2007 before becoming a stronghold for the Progressive-Conservatives under MPP Randy Pettapiece starting in 2011.

With Pettapiece’s announcement he is not seeking a fourth-term, Burbach said this could play to her favour but it goes beyond just his retirement.

“I think that the performance of the Ford government over the last three and a half years, it really does give someone who’s promoting change to really have a good chance in this riding,” Burbach said. “I really believe that I do have a great opportunity to show people there is an alternative to what we’ve been living through.”


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Keegan Kozolanka

About the Author: Keegan Kozolanka

Keegan Kozolanka is a general assignment reporter for EloraFergusToday, covering Wellington County. Keegan has been working with Village Media for more than two years and helped launch EloraFergusToday in 2021.
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