• Kelly Dunn, a Markham resident since 2003, is running as the Ontario Liberals’ Markham-Stouffville candidate in this year’s provincial election.
  • Dunn is prioritizing health care, aiming to ensure every resident has a family doctor within four years.
  • The Ontario Liberals propose eliminating Development Charges on new housing, removing the Provincial land transfer tax for first-time home-buyers and seniors, and introducing phased-in rent control.
  • The party plans to eliminate the 8% provincial HST portion from hydro and home heating bills, cut small business and middle-class income tax rates, and double ODSP payments.
  • Dunn supports increasing the number of family doctors by reducing administrative burdens, expanding team-based care, and accelerating the integration of internationally trained physicians.
  • The Ontario Liberals plan to reverse funding cuts, clear the school repair backlog, and build new schools to eliminate portables while increasing support for students with exceptionalities.
  • While the Liberal platform does not take a formal stance, Dunn criticized the Ford government’s frequent use of Minister’s Zoning Orders.
  • To date, she and New Blue Party candidate Brendan Sorenson are the only two candidates to participate in Bullet Point News’s Candidate Profile questionnaire.

 

Kelly Dunn has been a Markham resident since 2003 and is running as the Ontario Liberals’ Markham-Stouffville candidate.

An educator with more than 20 years of experience, Dunn has served on the boards of the Women’s Liberal Association of York Region, the Social Planning Council of York Region, and York Communities for Public Education. This is her second run as an Ontario Liberal candidate.

Additional information about Dunn can be found on her website, and the Ontario Liberal platform is available online. Our complete election guide for Stouffville voters can be found here.

Bullet Point News presented Markham-Stouffville’s five registered candidates with a series of questions on priority issues and concerns under provincial jurisdiction. Each responding candidate will be covered in the same manner, with their responses provided in full, edited only for clarity and flow.

What are your top priorities for the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville?

“Health care is a key part of our platform, and I want every Whitchurch-Stouffville resident to have a family doctor within four years. Primary care is our on-ramp to the whole health care system. Without access to primary care, people rely on ERs and walk-in clinics, which leads to long wait times and hallway medicine.

Development is another key issue in Whitchurch-Stouffville. It’s a small town that is growing rapidly, and housing prices are skyrocketing alongside rents. We want to work to bring down the cost of housing.

There are also environmental concerns, as so much of Whitchurch-Stouffville is located in the Oak Ridges Moraine. We have to find a way to meet the housing needs of Whitchurch-Stouffville and ensure the voice of the community is heard, all while prioritizing environmental sustainability.”

How would you and your party address Ontario’s growing housing crisis? 

“Housing is a key issue for the Ontario Liberals, and we are proposing several measures. First, we would eliminate Development Charges on new housing—fees that can add more than $100,000 to the cost of a home—and replace them with the Better Communities Fund to ensure municipalities have the funding they need.

Second, we would eliminate the Provincial land transfer tax for first-time home-buyers and seniors looking to downsize.

For renters, we would introduce phased-in rent control, work to resolve Landlord and Tenant Board disputes within two months, and establish the Rental Emergency Support for Tenants Fund to help vulnerable renters avoid eviction during financial emergencies.”

What will you focus on to make life more affordable for your constituency, and how will your party mitigate impacts from possible U.S. tariffs?

“We all know life has become increasingly unaffordable over the past few years. Inflation is on the decline, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way at the grocery store!

Our plan is multifaceted. We will eliminate the 8% provincial portion of the HST from hydro and home heating bills. We will also bring in an income tax cut for the middle class, decreasing from 9.17% to 7.17% on taxable income between $51,446 and $75,000. This will benefit almost half of all Ontario taxpayers.

For small business owners, we will cut the small business tax from 3.2% to 1.6%. We will also double ODSP, which currently provides a maximum of $1,368 per month. In strengthening our economy and ensuring people can afford their day to day living, we can mitigate whatever it is that Trump has in store for us.”

What are your and your party’s plans to improve healthcare service provision for Stouffville residents?

“We have pledged to get every Ontarian a family doctor within four years. It’s a big task, but it’s necessary for the system to survive.

In this riding, 14,000 people lack a family doctor, and that number is growing. We want to train, recruit, and retain more family doctors. In order to do this, we need to make family medicine more attractive to graduating medical students.

We can do this by focusing on team-based care and eliminating the administrative burden that often falls on family doctors. This can be done through utilizing virtual care and streamlining referral systems. We also need to accelerate the process of integrating internationally trained doctors to meet the demand for primary care.”

Ontario’s per-pupil education funding model is not keeping pace with inflation, putting pressure on school boards and limiting student support. How will you and your party work to better support Ontario’s students, and what education deficiencies would you focus on addressing?

I’m a teacher, so I see first-hand the state of education in Ontario. Supports for students with any kind of exceptionality have not kept pace with demand, and we are still working to close gaps caused by the pandemic. Furthermore, there are not enough EAs, social workers, or special education teachers.

It was under a previous Liberal government that Ontario invested heavily in education, such as implementing full-day kindergarten. We will work to close gaps by reversing cuts imposed by the Ford government, clearing the school repair backlog, and building new schools to eliminate the need for portables.

What are your and your party’s views on the use of Strong Mayor Powers and Minister’s Zoning Orders? Would they change under a Liberal government?

The Liberal Party platform does not currently include a formal position on these issues. While MZOs aren’t going away, we object to how frequently they are used by the current government.

At the time of publishing, Bullet Point News had received responses from only two candidates: Kelly Dunn of the Ontario Liberal Party and Brendan Sorenson of the New Blue Party. 

A Green Party spokesperson stated that their Markham-Stouffville candidate, Myles O’Brien, would not engage with the media and referred us to the party’s platform. Neither incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Paul Calandra nor New Democrat Gregory Hines has responded or indicated an intention to do so.