The author of a petition to separate northern Ontario from southern Ontario is now the leader of a political party. Last week, Trevor Holliday of Callander was named the leader of the Northern Ontario Party, a party that disbanded in 1985 and remained inactive until being revived and re-registered by Elections Ontario in 2010. Holliday set up a petition to restart the conversation of separating Ontario into a north and south province at the beginning of this year and says getting involved in politics was never a thought.
He says while one of the issues to address will be creating two separate provinces, the party wants to mainly focus on what northern Ontarians want changed.
Holliday says it would be a milestone to have just one party member elected in the next election, but would love to see members elected in all 11 ridings.
The party’s president is Ed Dieble who founded the party back in 1977 and recently announced his retirement, but was convinced to stay.