Mike Harris Jr. does not claim to be Michael Harris.
He also does not claim to be someone involved in any backroom shenanigans related to the bizarre series of circumstances in which Michael Harris was told he would not be able to run for the Progressive Conservatives in the June 7 election, only for the man whose name he nearly shares to replace him as the party’s nominee in Kitchener-Conestoga.
What he does claim to be is someone who respects Michael Harris and hopes to “follow up on his legacy” if voters send him to Queen’s Park.
It’s hard to remember the last time a political party nomination in Waterloo Region had as much curiosity around it as has the PCs’ pick for Kitchener-Conestoga.
Michael Harris has represented the riding at Queen’s Park since 2011. Last month, under a bizarre set of circumstances, voters learned that a third Harris term would not be an option.
Michael Harris says he was told April 7 by party officials that he would not be allowed to run as a PC candidate. The following day, he released a statement saying he would not seek the PC nomination due to a health issue. Two days after that, the PCs kicked him out of caucus over a series of flirtatious text messages between him and a party intern several years earlier.
Less than a week later, Mike Harris Jr. – who is the son of former premier Mike Harris and who had already lost a nomination battle for the PC seat in Waterloo – was appointed as the party’s new candidate for Kitchener-Conestoga.
While the unusual removal of one Harris from the picture and unexpected installation of another has led to speculation of untoward motives, Mike Harris Jr. denies anything of the sort.
“My father and myself had no prior knowledge that Michael was going to be put into the position that he’s in now,” he says.
“We certainly were not in the business of trying to get him ousted.”
Harris Jr. doesn’t live in Kitchener-Conestoga, but neither does he live far enough from the riding to be the interloping parachute candidate he has been accused of being. He lives in Waterloo – “five minutes from Conestogo,” he notes, adding that his family is considering a move to Elmira – and operated a frozen yogurt business in uptown Waterloo until it closed, which he blames on LRT construction leading to a decrease in foot traffic.
“I’ve been here for years,” he says.
Harris Jr. says he has heard a lot of complaints about hydro rates, taxes and other affordability issues during his time on the campaign trail. He considers himself strong on fiscal responsibility, and says he was inspired to get into politics by a desire to reduce the province’s debt.
“Our kids and the next generations after them are the ones who are going to have to pay for this,” he says.
While Harris Jr.’s rhetoric fits with his party’s messaging, stalwart party supporters in Kitchener-Conestoga say they’re still concerned about the process by which he became their nominee.
“It was done poorly. I think they handled it very badly,” says Cyril Zister.
Zister says he had agreed to put up a lawn sign for Michael Harris, who he calls a hard worker and a strong candidate. He was then was surprised to find that the Mike Harris Jr. campaign had put up a sign for their candidate at the front entrance to his property.
“It kind of upset me,” he says.
“They didn’t ask. They should have asked first.”
Zister says he took the sign down and laid it flat, then called the Harris Jr. office and asked them to pick it up. He says he was told that would happen – although it didn't until more than a week later, when Harris Jr. visited the property shortly after a CTV News reporter.
Ryan Simper doesn’t have a story about an unwanted lawn sign, but he does share Zister’s concerns about Michael Harris’ removal from the party and the process by which he was replaced, particularly because two candidates had already declared interest in seeking the nomination.
“Members should always have the final say in who’s going to represent them,” Simper says.
Zister says he expects to vote for Harris Jr. because, despite his concerns about the party’s internal politics, he likes what he's seen from his local candidate. Simper says he'll be voting PC as well, albeit in a different riding, as his home was moved out of Kitchener-Conestoga in the most recent boundary change.
CTV News obtained screenshots of an account for Bumble, an online dating site, belonging to Harris Jr. Harris Jr. says he created a profile “several months ago” as part of “a bit of a drinking game” he and some of his friends had invented.
“That’s really all it was,” he says.
With reporting by Tina Yazdani
