PC candidate Dawn Gallagher Murphy touts record at open house

As the community dug out from significant snows on Monday, the atmosphere was much warmer inside as incumbent Progressive Conservative candidate Dawn Gallagher Murphy hosted an open house at her Newmarket campaign office.

Volunteers and supporters filled the space as Gallagher Murphy, who was first elected to Queen's Park in 2022, underscored her support for “pillars” of the growing community.

“In the two-and-a-half years since I was elected, I have been out there in the community working hard, as far as I am concerned, getting things done for the community,” she said, noting that, in her view, this election is “all about protecting our economy.”

“It's about making sure we do have a strong economy coming out of the next four years of the Trump administration term because it is going to be very much unpredictable waters,” she said.

One thing that is more assured, she suggested, is her continued support for Southlake Health, for which she has been a prominent advocate in both her role as MPP and in her legislative role as Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Health Sylvia Jones.

Southlake, she said, was her number-one priority “because, as everyone knows, Southlake Health is a critical part of our community” and will continue to be as they grow and expand their campus.

“They are the pillar that make up Newmarket-Aurora,” she said. “My number one priority is to ensure they grow just like our community has been growing. They are quickly moving into Phase Two of their capital planning, they have already closed the RFP, and we will soon know where the parcel of land is where they will be receiving the next grant to start planning the construction of that second site. I am happy I have been an advocate to ensure that that project keeps moving for us.”

Another key priority, she outlined, was furthering mental health care and addictions supports close to home.

“Last July, I announced the brand-new, first-of-its-kind mental health and community care centre that is being build right now on Yonge Street, right across the road from the York Region Administrative Offices and it will be opening in 2026. What that is going to do is [it's] going to be open 7/24 with 20 beds. If someone is suffering mental health crises or addiction crises, instead of going to Southlake's ER, they will be able to go to the Centre and get the appropriate care they need – and it will also eliminate some of the stress on our ER department.

“Those are two critical projects I believe impact everyone in our community. Amongst many other things I have been doing in the community, because I can talk all day about the thousands and millions of dollars that I brought into this community to help us grow, another big project I am working on that I am very excited about and I am hoping to be able to announce it within the next couple of months, and that is the rehabilitation of the Huron Heights football field. That has been a big, huge community effort and I am going to be talking about that in two months' time.”

By Brock Weir