Colin McSweeney, organizer for the federal Conservative Party during former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s time as Conservative Party Leader, presented retiring SDSG MP Guy Lauzon with a replica Conservative campaign bus, signed by Harper, from that era. Thompson Goddard photo
Thompson Goddard photo
BONVILLE–As the annual general meeting of the Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry Conservative Association held on Jan. 26 in the Cornwall Township Lions Club hall in South Stormont drew to a close, SDSG Member of Parliament Guy Lauzon announced his retirement from public life.
In the address to those gathered for the meeting, Lauzon recounted his long political career which began in the 2000 federal election when he unsuccessfully ran in this riding for the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance Party.
With a lot of hard work, determination and the support of his wife Frances, he ran in the 2004 federal election, winning the seat for the Conservative Party by 3,900 votes, the 2006 election with 52 per cent of the votes, followed by garnering 55 per cent of the votes in the 2008 election, 62 per cent of the vote in 2011 and in the last federal election held in 2015, received 51 per cent of votes cast in SDSG.
Lauzon is known for his dedicated riding work and commented in a post-announcement press release: “Whether it has been at church suppers, business openings, community events and meetings, or at their doorsteps, Frances and I have met and become friends with thousands of people. We are blessed to have shared such a wonderful opportunity together.”
Acclaimed as the candidate in the upcoming federal election for the Conservative Party in this riding, Lauzon explained how over the past couple of months he spent a significant amount of time contemplating and discussing his future with family members, before reaching the decision to step down as the Conservative Party candidate in SDSG.
Following this announcement, there was a standing ovation for the man who has served his party, his riding and his country with determination and dedication. Lauzon served for eight years as the National Caucus chair for the Conservative Party, parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and in 2017, instituted the SDSG Service Awards to commemorate the sesquicentennial of Canada.
There were several factors which led to Lauzon’s retirement announcement which included how the riding association is in good shape, no shortage of quality candidates available, and how “it is time to let the next generation of leaders step forward in our community”.
“The Conservative Party of Canada will conduct a nomination process in the coming months to select a new Conservative candidate in the upcoming federal election” for the riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry. Lauzon mentioned he will remain as SDSG MP until the next federal election, and he would “still be very active to ensure this riding elects a Conservative Member of Parliament and makes Andrew Scheer the next Prime Minister of Canada.”
Carolyn Thompson Goddard, grew up in Chesterville and attended North Dundas District High School. After completing her BA in Political Science at Carleton University she has worked as a medical secretary and library technician. In 2020 she graduated from Algonquin College with a diploma in Journalism and has been a reporter and column writer for The Chesterville Record for over 10 years.
