By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Since Essex MP Chris Lewis was first elected to represent the area in the House of Commons in October of 2019, affordability has continued to be the number one concern he has heard from constituents.
And, he believes the situation has gotten worse over the years.
On Sunday, the MP opened the doors of his Essex Constituency Office to host his annual New Year’s Levee. Every year, this connection event allows him to show he and his staff are accessible, there to listen, and are ready to help constituents with federal matters.
While Sunday provided a dumping of snow, Lewis and his team still hosted the event and were pleased to meet with around two-dozen community members who were able to stop in, despite the weather.
The number one issue he has heard from constituents over the past year has been cost of living. And that is the same top topic of concern he has heard over his six-year career representing the Essex Riding in Ottawa.
“It has only gotten worse,” he said of affordability. “It’s not just me saying it, it is everybody saying it.”
The cost of food is mind-boggling, he said. But the costs of many things people need have risen.
He is hearing not only about the price of groceries and commodities, but young adults have relayed they do not believe they will ever be able to afford their own home.
“We have to change that mentality, we have to change that thought process,” he said. “I want to be a conduit to the succession of their lives, but it is really tough if you don’t lay in your own bed at home with your own roof over your head, perhaps with a partner, then what do you really have to fight for? I want to make sure that thought process, that narrative, is changed quickly.”
The majority of residents in the Essex Riding work very hard to get ahead a tiny bit, Lewis said. If all their costs are covered at the end of the day, he wondered if they are able to make an investment in their future.
“If we are not creating that environment for people to do that, then we are not doing our job.”
Over the past year, Lewis said he has also heard some rhetoric about the US, but that has settled down quite a bit. He has been hearing a lot about freedom, and constituents wanting to go back to the way things were 12-15-years ago. He often hears the country they grew up in made sense and worked. Today, it doesn’t feel that way.
“That breaks my heart to hear that,” Lewis said. “The good news, it didn’t use to be that way, it doesn’t have to be that way. So, let’s just get it back to where it was.”
He dislikes it when people lose faith in the process.
He is looking forward to continuing discussions with Mexico, as he was part of a group of Canadians who headed there recently to have pre-discussions on CUSMA, and he believes discussion needs to continue with the US.
“I don’t believe we should kick a sleeping dog and I don’t believe we should provoke a sleeping bear, which [Prime Minister] Carney has done very well over the last week. I don’t think that is the right strategy.”
He was also not saying Canada should bow down to bullies. “We can be really, really strategic, really smart with how we go forward.”
Currently, he is very concerned about the Canadian auto sector that has deep roots in this region. He is continuing to stand up for all things auto. He will work hard to find willing partners to come and invest in that sector for tier twos, tier threes, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
“We have to defend and stand proud for the auto sector,” he said, noting that the world is changing and there is opportunity to diversity to make other products – such as vehicles for the military as the government has said it will invest a lot more into that – and figure out how those jobs can stay in the area. “Why not do it here?”
Small and medium-sized enterprises just continue to produce, export, import, and also employ so many people.
“At the same time, they are the same people – the same companies – that put their name on the back of baseball and soccer jerseys and support our figure skaters,” Lewis said. “We have to celebrate them and we have to support them.”
Lewis is “Looking forward to being part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
2026 is going to be good, he predicts.
He is also predicting there will be another federal election this year, sooner than later. He believes the first few months of the year will bring uncertainty, and once an election takes place, there will be a better plan forward for the country.
He urges individuals to visit www.consertaive.ca to learn about the Conservative Party.
“We are not here to argue, bicker, and beat-up the government all the time,” Lewis commented. “We have provided so many solutions.”
That included getting rid of the Carbon Tax, and the Industrial Carbon Pricing, which he believes impacts the cost of food.
Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois and the NDP often side with Liberals, he explained.
“I know for Levi, my four-and-a-half-year-old grandson, I am on the right team to bring the country forward, and I am very proud to stand on this team. I will continue to defend Canadian rights and freedoms.”
Lewis added he appreciates his amazing staff for helping out the residents of the Riding of Essex.
“They work tirelessly to help the folks,” he said, noting his office receives anywhere between 300-1300 inquiries a day.