Longtime Progressive Canadian Party candidate Dorian Baxter said he has a motto about his political aspirations: “I’ll try till I die.”
The 71-year-old archbishop and Elvis tribute artist is running as an independent candidate in Newmarket-Aurora after his party fell below the minimum membership needed to get on the ballot. Baxter has run in several elections since 2003, including in Newmarket-Aurora in 2015 and 2019, as well as for Newmarket mayor in 2014.
Baxter has yet to win an election, garnering 901 votes in the 2019 general election. But he said he has never garnered as much interest as in his independent run this year.
“I have really discovered that most people I speak with are really, really fed up with party politics, and they wanted somebody who is going to represent them and not just shill for whichever party leader they are running with,” Baxter said.
Baxter has a long political history in the Greater Toronto Area, predating the amalgamation of the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties in 2003. He had a membership with the Reform Party, switched to the Progressive Conservatives but objected to their eventual merger, and won a court case against it. After the case he joined the Progressive Canadian Party, of which he has been president since 2009.
But the party was unable to reach the membership minimum to run this year, which Baxter said was due to waning interest after the death of leader Sinclair Stevens in 2016 and the sudden election call this year. Still, Baxter said he was eager to run, concerned by what he sees as a push toward totalitarianism by the Liberal government. He also spoke against vaccine mandates, which he said violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“Vaccine mandates must be prevented at all costs. Freedom of choice is essential in a democratic society,” he said.
Baxter has also run in several byelections in different ridings, including in York-Simcoe in 2019 and Markham-Thornhill in 2017.
Baxter said he leads a busy life as an archbishop at Christ the King Graceland Church in Newmarket, counselling people. He was also a teacher for 33 years.
"With the assistance of the Lord almighty, I prevent anywhere from four to seven potential suicides a week," he said. "That requires a lot of counselling."
Politically, he described himself as a "red Tory," socially progressive but fiscally conservative. Opposed to both the Liberal and Conservative parties, he believes people are ready to vote for a candidate like him.
“More than ever, I have a great opportunity to stand up, and I think people are ready to put their weight behind an independent candidate that is going to stand on guard for this country," he said.
