Meet the 2025 candidates in the Thunder Bay—Atikokan riding

The riding includes the south side of Thunder Bay, as well as the outlying townships of Oliver Paipoonge, Neebing, Conmee and O'Connor. It includes Atikokan at its western boundary.

The riding also includes Fort William First Nation and some of Treaty 3 territory.

Thunder Bay—Atikokan covers an area of about 25,000 square kilometres, and as of the 2016 Census, had a population of just over 75,000.

The candidates in alphabetical order by surname are as follows:

Eric Arner, Green

Eric Arner previously ran in the 2022 election in the Thunder Bay—Atikokan riding. He is a teacher at Atikokan High School. He's been living in northwestern Ontario for about a decade, after growing up on a farm in southwestern Ontario.

Kevin Holland, PC

Kevin Holland won the riding in 2022. His 2022 win ended a generation-long drought for the PCs in the riding, which was gripped tightly by the Liberals from 1999 to 2018. He is currently the Ontario associate minister of Forestry and Forest Products. Holland was named the new parliamentary assistant (PA) to the minister of long-term care in July 2024, in addition to his existing role as PA to the minister of mines.

Before running for MPP, Holland has said he spent 31 years working in business and government. 

Stephen Margarit, Liberal

While the 2025 election is Stephen Margarit's first foray into provincial politics, he previously ran for a city council at-large seat in both the 2022 and 2018 Thunder Bay municipal elections. He also previously worked with former MPP Michael Gravelle, who held the Thunder Bay—Superior North riding from 1995 to 2022. 

Judith Monteith-Farrell, NDP

Judith Monteith-Farrell is a community advocate in Thunder Bay, who was elected as the riding's MPP in 2018. She served as the NDP's critic for a number of portfolios, including natural resources and forestry, mines, and conservation and parks. She was defeated by the Ontario PCs' Kevin Holland in 2022.