TORONTO — Premier Kathleen Wynne is embarking on a northern tour amid growing unrest in the region, including the relaunch of the Northern Ontario Party that wants to separate and create its own province.
Wynne leaves Saturday on a weeklong visit to schools, hospitals, businesses and First Nations from North Bay to Sioux Lookout, with stops in Sudbury, Dryden, Kenora, Fort Frances, Kirkland Lake and nearly a dozen other communities.
She will make a series of funding announcements on health care, infrastructure and other measures that the government says will enhance public services and help accelerate economic growth in the north.
Wynne says the government is building on the many strengths in the north to ensure everyone in Ontario can enjoy a high quality of life.
The Northern Ontario Party, which emerged from the ashes of the old Northern Ontario Heritage Party, was registered with Elections Ontario last week, and says its first goal is to elect 11 candidates to the legislature in 2018.
There's also a revived movement underway in Kenora to have that city join Manitoba after a local paper mill announced it was closing because of Ontario's high electricity rates.
