Allan Boynton, president of the Guelph PC riding association, has announced that interest in becoming the PC nominee for the next provincial election --- and ultimately Guelph’s next MPP --- is heating up. PC Headquarters in Toronto has just approved the candidacy of Anthony MacDonald.

MacDonald is a highly successful harness horse driver who has raced all over North America for the past 15 years and has won 2,273 races during his career. He is 35 years old and married, with a 15-month old daughter. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and has lived in Guelph for five years.

As one of the 60,000 people involved in horse racing in Ontario, MacDonald is a vocal opponent of the McGuinty government’s plan to remove slot machines from Ontario racetracks and renege on a long-standing funding agreement for a vitally important industry in this province. MacDonald’s capacity for speaking out effectively is evidenced by the speech he made at a Queen’s Park rally on March 26, 2012 (which appears below). However, his motivation to become Guelph’s next MPP is also due to concerns beyond this issue.

“The people who need government the most have been forgotten. For me, as an Ontarian, enough is enough. Our jobs have been slashed and depleted, our private sector crippled and the Liberal government’s answer is to raise taxes and hydro rates? Where is our leadership? It’s time for the people to have their voices heard. We need common sense politics --- from politicians with common sense.

Anthony MacDonald - Queen’s Park Rally - March 26, 2012

“My family comes from Prince Edward Island, and we're heavily involved in politics and government. I have never seen a provincial government like McGuinty’s that disrespects its citizens by thinking they aren’t paying attention to what it does," said MacDonald

Allan Boynton agrees with PC Headquarters’ decision to approve MacDonald’s candidacy for the Guelph PC nomination.

“Anthony MacDonald is a dynamic individual who is getting involved because he sees the direction our province is going in and knows it needs to be changed. Ontario has suffered a great deal since Dalton McGuinty became Premier. It is only a matter of time before he breaks another promise, increases the massive deficit that burdens all Ontarians, and puts the future of this great province in even greater jeopardy than it is already in.”

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(With files from the Guelph Provincial Progressive Conservative Association)