Looking back, looking ahead, part 2: MPP Rae

Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae looks back at 2025 and ahead to 2026.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Although 2025 began with a turbulent start, Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae said that are some silver linings among the gray skies of last year – some sunny days too.

“I know some of the bright things I take from 2025 is that Canadians are proud to be Canadian again,” said Rae in a year in review conversation with the Times. “Which is great to see and really refocus on what it means to be an independent nation and province in the world, and understanding that we need to stand on our own two feet and diversify our trade, which has been a theme with (Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic) Fedeli and Premier (Doug) Ford in 2025 and will be in 2026 as well, as we go into the new year.

“But I think there is a lot of opportunity, and I think we're seeing that with some of our local businesses and some of the expansion that is happening, which is great to see in 2025 and hopefully continues into 2026. … It's more important than ever.”

The on-again-off-again U.S. trade tariffs were the biggest challenges the province and the region faced, Rae surmised. He said he was pleased with his government’s reactions, highlighting some of the financial support offered to local businesses to onshore production and to pivot around U.S. protectionism, both in the auto manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

“There were still a lot of American plates driving around Stratford during the summer months for the (Stratford) Festival and other cultural and tourism attractions locally, which is great to see that our American friends are still visiting us, despite the current U.S. administration not having such a favourable view of Canada at the moment,” Rae said.

From a party perspective, another highlight was the provincial election in February. Rae was re-elected to his seat at Queen’s Park, joining his Progressive Conservative (PC) Party colleagues to form a third-straight majority government – a political dynasty which hasn’t taken place in the province since “Old Man Ontario” Premier Leslie Frost won his third majority government in 1959 (and his sixth consecutive term in office).

“It really speaks, I think, to our message as a government about protecting Ontario, but really listening to the people of Ontario,” Rae said. “… The premier is always famous – and I agree wholeheartedly with this – that the best ideas come from outside of Queen's Park in downtown Toronto, and I think that is reflected in our government's policies and legislation and why people and the people of Ontario continue to choose to re-elect the current government.”

Personally, Rae also became the Chief Government Whip, the member who ensures other members of the party vote as leadership desires – an appointment Rae called an honour.

Aside from protecting Ontario from external threats, Rae highlighted his government’s response to aging infrastructure in the riding and the whole province. Locally, $50 million in new infrastructure funding has been invested through the province and its local partners, which Rae estimated will help enable 4,400 new homes, and Stratford was successful in securing $3 million through the Connecting Links program that will go towards major arterial roads in the city (the Erie Street and Huron Street reconstruction projects in particular).

On the subject of housing, Rae said that tariffs have affected his government’s ultimate goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031, given that many of the materials used in housing starts are manufactured in the U.S., but they are focused on cutting timelines and streamlining on the provincial side.

Turning to 2026 and the year ahead, Rae said that he is most excited and anxious about the renegotiation of CUSMA, the free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico. Given the sentiment of the current U.S. administration, Rae is concerned about a withdrawal from the agreement.

And, like last year, Rae is focused on continued infrastructure investment. Over $200 billion of education, health care, road, bridges, public transit and other infrastructure projects are slated to begin construction in the next couple of years.

“We know we need to continue to build for the future,” Rae said. “Whether it's the road in the Ring of Fire, whether it's hydro lines and other important electricity infrastructure, whether it's wastewater and water for homes, or whether it's hospitals and schools across Perth-Wellington and Ontario, our government has made it a priority to continue to invest in the build out of a variety of social services, while maintaining a competitive environment for businesses to come to and operate in Ontario.”