Green Party candidate in Barrie-Innisfil pulls out of the race

Colin Nelthrorpe, the Green Party's federal candidate for the Barrie-Innisfil riding, has withdrawn from the election race.

“I am currently the president of Fierte Simcoe Pride and I thought I could manage both those roles successfully, but I realized the election is taking up too much of my time,” he told BarrieToday Wednesday afternoon. “I basically had a choice -- be a shitty president or run a mediocre campaign -- and I just figured instead of staying on as a candidate and doing a terrible job at it, I would resign and refocus my time toward Pride.”

Nelthorpe says he was unaware if there would be another candidate named.

“I honestly wouldn’t bank on anyone else stepping in because there are 28 days until the election,” he said. 

Barrie-Innisfil riding association president Ron Fischer told BarrieToday he doesn’t know what the next step will be for the local Green Party in the upcoming election, adding he is in the midst of consulting with the Green Party of Canada.

“We have a tight timeframe to bring forward another candidate, and getting the 100 signatures and all that for Elections Canada, is going to be really tight because I believe the deadline is Monday to get anybody on the ballot let alone having to get them vetted and the whole bit,” he said.

“We are going to have to do the best we can and soldier on I guess," Fischer added. "We wish Colin all the best. It’s unfortunate, but I guess his personal demands are hindering his ability to go forward.”

Fischer says the party hopes to have a new candidate in place by Monday's deadline set by Elections Canada. 

In an earlier email sent to BarrieToday, Nelthorpe made note that he intends to run in the 2022 Barrie municipal election.