Ontario NDP appoints new candidate for Pickering-Uxbridge

Voters in Pickering-Uxbridge will see a new name on the ballot when they head to the polls in June. The Ontario NDP has appointed Khalid Ahmed as the candidate to try to flip the riding currently held by finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy.

The NDP called Ahmed “a community leader who connects communities across age groups and ethnic backgrounds to work together” in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Ahmed worked with Seneca College prior to his nomination as a member of their Continuing Education Student Advisory Board, working to improve services for students.

He has lived in the Picking-Uxbridge riding for more than a decade. Despite calling Durham home, Ahmed ran in Toronto ‘s Don Valley East riding in 2018, challenging incumbent and Liberal Leadership runner-up Michael Coteau. It was one of only 7 seats the Liberals were able to hold.

This time, Ahmed will be up against another major incumbent, Peter Bethlenfalvy, Doug Ford’s finance minister. Bethlenfalvy is the first MPP to sit in the riding after it’s creation in 2015 as an amalgamation of parts from the Ajax-Pickering, Durham and Pickering-Scarborough East riding.

Bethlenfalvy has a background in finance as the former CIO of CST Consultant and Senior VP of Manulife. He was promoted to the Finance Minister post in December 2020, after the previous Finance Minister, Rod Phillips, MPP of Ajax, resigned his post after his secret trip to the Caribbean that violated public health regulations was made public.

As such Ahmed has his work cut out for him in trying to unseat Bethlenfalvy. However he says he’s eager to get to work, saying, “I love our community and I am dedicated to making sure we get the public services we need.”

“We are one of the fastest-growing communities in the province,” he continued, “I want to join Andrea Horwath to rebuild and improve education and health care for families in Pickering-Uxbridge, open more opportunities for our kids and make it possible for families to afford the life they’re working for – with homes people can afford, and more respect for working folks.”

“We must end Doug Ford’s destruction of our conservation areas only to benefit his buddies. As MPP, I will ensure that our growth means a better path forward that always puts Pickering-Uxbridge families first.”

On the conservation note, despite calls from every party and numerous Durham politicians Carruther’s Creek remains unprotected by the Green Belt despite expansions of the belt into Clarington.

Oshawa MPP and fellow NDP member Jennifer French, who led calls for Carruther’s Creek being added to the protected list, said of Ahmed’s appointment, “Khalid’s focus on families in Pickering-Uxbridge is exactly what we need right now.”