The slate of candidates in Simcoe North has grown to six.
Russ Emo is representing the Christian Heritage Party (CHP) in the upcoming federal election. Elections Canada confirmed his name was filed in advance of the deadline earlier this week.
Emo has worked as an insurance broker for 20 years. He’s been married for 33 years and he and his wife are proud parents of five children.
The 58-year-old Kirkfield resident ran for the CHP in the last federal election in the Dufferin-Caledon area; it was his first experience in politics. He decided to run in Simcoe North this time because the CHP has roots in the riding; Adrian Kooger ran under the CHP banner in several elections.
Emo is running again, he said, because he strongly believes in the values of the CHP and wants to spread its message.
“They believe in family values, freedom, and life. We are the only federal party that is 100 per cent pro-life, and that is very dear to my heart,” he said.
“I have a son who has Down syndrome, and the system wanted me to abort him before he was even born. He is now going on 16 years old and he’s the apple of our eye," explained Emo.
Running in this election, specifically, was of significant interest to Emo who aims to get what he describes as a "runaway freight train" back on the tracks.
“We need to take back some sort of normalcy. The fear and the divisiveness with everything that is going on right now needs to come to an end. We need to reunite as a country and as people,” he said.
“We need our lives back, we need to go forward, we just need all this (pandemic-related) stuff to stop," said Emo. "There is a debt that has spiraled out of control, and we need to get a hold of it otherwise we will be passing this down to our children and grandchildren, and they will never be able to get out of it.”
Emo truly believes he has a shot at winning the election, even though it may be a significantly small chance.
“It’s almost like the lottery. Why do people continue to buy a ticket? Do they think they will win? No, but they think there is a chance and that’s why they do it,” he said.
“Do I think I could win? There is a possibility, and if I don’t try then I’ll never know.”
Emo believes that if he was elected he would do a great job representing the people of Simcoe North.
“I would stand up for the people, and they would know morally and ethically where I stand on issues,” he said.
“I would grab a hold of that steering wheel and steer the ship back into the direction that we need to be going.”
So far Emo has had a positive experience connecting with voters during the election.
“Our party has been out there for a few years now, and there are still people out there that don’t even know we exist,” he said.
“That’s the one thing that I’m working on changing because when voters do hear about us and our platform it really sets them back and makes them think ‘wow’, where have you guys been,” he said.
Other candidates in Simcoe North are Adam Chambers (Conservative), Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux (Liberal), Janet-Lynne Durnford (NDP), Krystal Brooks (Green Party) and Stephen Makk (People's Party of Canada).
To read profiles of those candidates and other election news, visit our CanadaVotes 2021 section.
