A member of Windsor City Council has an eye on federal politics.
Mark McKenzie has announced he plans to seek the Conservative Party of Canada nomination for the new riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore.
McKenzie says he is listing crime prevention, tackling affordability issues, and the need for more housing as his key priorities.
He says there's an affordability crisis in this country, and it's something he hears from residents every single day.
"Double the cost of groceries, double the cost of heating and cooling your home; inflation is at an all-time high; gas prices have skyrocketed. People are struggling out there, and things are broken, and I think I'm the person to fix it," he says.
McKenzie is currently the councillor for Windsor's Ward 4, a post he was elected to serve during the 2022 municipal election.
He says even when he ran for council, he ran on Conservative values.
"Safe streets and safe neighbourhoods; keeping tax increases as low as we can, investing in our communities. Tough on crime, tough on criminals, tough on drug dealers, keeping drugs off the street," he says.
The current riding of Windsor-Tecumseh is represented by Liberal Irek Kusmierczyk, who has held the seat since the 2019 federal election.
McKenzie says the current representation is not representing the values that residents want.
"We see what's happening in this country, and there's a lot of things that are broken," he says. "I thought now is the time to stand up for my community and stand up for everybody. The people who are retired, but also those young children who are going to grow up in a country where unfortunately things are getting worse and worse."
The riding, currently known as Windsor-Tecumseh, is being renamed for the next election following the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution.
Windsor-Tecumseh consists of the Town of Tecumseh and the part of the City of Windsor lying east and north of a line drawn from the U.S. border southeast along Langlois Avenue, east along Tecumseh Road East, and southeast along Pillette Road to the southern city limit.
The new riding will now include part of Lakeshore north of the 401 and west of the Puce River (Pike Creek and Elmstead areas) from Essex.
The 45th Canadian federal election will take place on or before October 20, 2025.