About ME
I am Holly Thompson, and I am proud to introduce myself as a candidate for your consideration for the nomination to the Conservative Party of Canada in Parry Sound—MuskokA.
I have always felt a deep connection to Parry Sound-Muskoka, and have spent a lot of my life in Bala. My family has been in Bala for five generations. I got married to my wonderful husband Mike in Bala. I earned my first pay-cheque in Bala, and earned many more over the years working from Gravenhurst to Port Sydney. The life experiences that I’ve had and the memories that I have made in the area have moulded me into who I am today. Parry Sound-Muskoka will be part of my family’s future for years, and hopefully generations to come. Throughout my career, I have lived in a number of cities around the world, where I learned many valuable lessons and skills, but I am excited to be coming back to Bala, and I look forward to the opportunity to put the skills I have learned in the business world to use in Ottawa for the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka.
I AM an accountant by trade and by training.
I’m a graduate of the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, following which I worked at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for the last 8 years. I recently departed PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Vice-President in order to pursue the nomination to work for you.
As an accountant, fiscal responsibility is my priority when it comes to solving just about any problem. However, in addition to knowing how to balance the books, I have had the privilege of a career working with struggling companies in the process of restructuring their businesses when external pressures forced them to make difficult decisions. For example, when Kathleen Wynne increased the minimum wage without considering the effects on businesses, it was my team that was called in to an already vulnerable Ontario company to manage and try to minimize mass lay-offs.
I have seen the pain and understand the legitimate concerns hard-working people have when their livelihoods are influenced by factors beyond their control. This is sadly an experience I have seen first-hand repeated across Ontario, Canada and internationally. The effect of policy decisions on individuals, families and small businesses is something that I have come to understand acutely.
I am running for candidacy in the Conservative Party of Canada to address this and to be a voice at the table for all hard working Canadians.
Small business is something that I have been exposed to from a young age.Growing up, my father owned and operated a pharmaceutical business and my mother owned and operated a small accounting practice. From a young age, I was exposed to the kinds of pressures that entrepreneurs face, and understand the frustration when government imposes policies like above-market minimum wages, anti-competitive corporate taxes or carbon taxes, that undermine the livelihoods of the people who form the backbone of the Canadian economy.
I am a lifelong conservative.
I’ve been the CFO and sat on the board of local riding associations. I’ve played an active role in federal and provincial conservative campaigns across Ontario. Through my involvement with the party, I have worked hard to build the base, especially among younger voters, and have had the privilege of coordinating talks and seminars with preeminent conservative leaders, including Andrew Scheer, Peter MacKay, Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, Joe Oliver and Mike Harris.
In my time spent working to create interest and support for the Party among younger generations, I have experienced first-hand the “Trudeau effect”. Younger voters are more concerned with what Justin has on his socks than they are about the effect that Liberal policies will have on their futures and the futures of their children. I believe that we need to change this superficial approach to politics, and bring all constituents, but especially disaffected or distracted younger generations, to the table.
This is not a vote-getting strategy, it’s a fundamental part of building for long term sustainability of the Party and our country.
WHY I’M RUNNING
The upcoming federal election comes at a time when Canadians are beginning to realize that the move away from responsible, accountable, conservative federal leadership has come at a significant cost.
The Justin Trudeau experiment has turned out to be the failure that many of us predicted. The generation I represent, and I believe increasingly all Canadians, have had enough of the high-minded talk, the hypocritical virtue-signalling, the broken promises. The voice of the hardworking Canadian is lost in the tweets, photo-ops and apologies. It is time to get back to the basics of governing with a fiscal and moral conscience. I believe that Canadians have heard enough, and deserve to see action.
But the Trudeau experiment has taught us that Canadian voters are looking for new and more modern approaches to governing. Voters are changing. As hard-working, responsible Canadians that care about our future, we have to be conscious of and responsive to these basic expectations. I am running to ensure that the important conservative policies that have kept Canada prosperous and productive will continue to be represented in Parliament.