Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy will run for another term of office after being acclaimed as the riding’s Conservative candidate.
The next provincial election will take place on or before June 2026. Gallagher Murphy is in the middle of her first term in office, after being triumphant in the 2022 election with 44.9 per cent of the vote, well ahead of second-place Liberal Sylvain Roy at 31.4 per cent.
Gallagher Murphy said it is excellent to get the acclamation and remain focused on her constituency work rather than having to focus on the candidacy process.
“I’m excited because it means one step closer to what I need to accomplish,” she said. “I’m invested in this community.”
Gallagher Murphy was previously appointed as a candidate by the central party in 2022 after MPP Christine Elliott opted not to run again. Gallagher Murphy worked as Elliott’s constituency office manager before becoming a candidate. Before that, she was an entrepreneur with a consulting business.
Gallagher Murphy has not held any cabinet roles but has served in multiple ministries. She served as parliamentary assistant to the minister of health in the first part of her term, before switching to the same role for the minister of natural resources and forestry last March.
Premier Doug Ford said Gallagher Murphy has been a “remarkable representative.”
“Her expertise in health care and her commitment to the people she serves have been crucial in improving local services, building more homes, and attracting investments that create good-paying jobs,” Ford said in a news release. “Dawn is playing a critical role in delivering on our promise to expand public transit, support job growth, and keep costs down for families. I know she will continue to fight for the people of Newmarket-Aurora.”
Thus far in her term, Gallagher Murphy said she is proud of her work advocating for the upcoming mental health hub in Newmarket. But she has other things she wants to accomplish in the office, including a new Southlake Regional Health Centre hospital site.
“That is a critical project,” Gallagher Murphy said. “I want to continue the good work of ensuring that hospital gets built … I want to continue to be the advocate moving that project forward.”
Gallagher Murphy said she got an idea of the work required of an MPP in her time in Elliott’s office, but it is demanding.
“It’s been extremely busy,” she said, adding balancing her role as a legislator with supporting her constituency can be challenging. “But at the end of the day, I find it extremely rewarding.”
