The people have spoken, and their man is Derek Sloan.

Sloan has been officially selected as the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate in Hastings-Lennox & Addington for the federal election next year.

 A nomination meeting was held at Tweed Elementary School where over 300 Conservative supporters had a chance to hear speeches from the candidates, and the theme was that a change needs to come to Canada, and Sloan has been picked as the one for the job.

“Obviously it takes a whole country and a whole group of politicians to do that, but I definitely think we do need to have a change,” said Sloan.

“I think a lot of people today are concerns about their freedom of speech, their freedom of conscience, and I think that those are things that hopefully we can all agree need to be protected.”

“That is the main reason why I am running.”

Sloan works as a lawyer and lives in Stirling with his wife, a Nurse Practitioner, and their three children.

As a family man, Sloan said that he is worried about the kind of country his kids will inherit.

With his candidacy confirmed, Sloan said their next move is to get ready for the New Year.

“The next step will be battening down the hatches with the conservative riding association and other people that volunteer with us as we look to get prepared for 2019,” explained Sloan.

There are three things Sloan is looking to achieve; defending free speech and freedom of conscience, Scrapping the Carbon Tax and making rural life more affordable, and bring more youth into the Conservative Party, which Sloan said is part of what the Party needs to succeed.

“I think there is local and national ways to do that,” said Sloan, referring to what action he wants to take regarding the youth.

“Local ways are reaching out to younger people and involving them in the process, talking to them about what concerns them and sharing our message with them in a way that’s related to them.”

As the new CPC for Hastings-Lennox & Addington, Sloan has his sights set on toppling the Liberal Party and MP Mike Bossio, who Sloan said is just like his party leader, “big on smiles and low on substance.”

“He’ll have a tough time against a younger, abler opponent who can beat him at his own game.”

To claim the candidate position, Sloan had his work cut out for him, beating out Jackie Denyes, Michael Collins and Mark Hanley.

Denyes is a former Belleville City Councillor, serving the city for 15 years, and led the polls in the 2014 municipal election.

Working in leadership positions on numerous committees and participating in many successful endeavours, Denyes chose to fore-go the municipal election for a chance at the federal level.

Michael Collins is a resident of Tweed and has been a lawyer for 20 years.

Coming from a family of farmers, Collins is a former member of the Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment, and has spent four years as a member of the Federal Appeals Tribunal.

Mark Hanley is a successful business owner and is the Hastings County Small Business Coordinator.

Having been in Hastings-Lennox & Addington for 27 years, this is not Hanley’s first foray into politics, having sought the federal nomination in 2004 in the former riding of Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.

Sloan looks to unseat Bossio to become the new MP of Hastings-Lennox & Addington in the 43rd Canadian Federal Election which will take place on Monday, October 21, 2019.