Seniors aging at home, new skills training, and an Indigenous business directory

Seniors aging at home, new skills training, and an Indigenous business directory

Ontario Weekly Update September 2025: Seniors Aging at Home, Skills Training, and First Nations Business Directory

By Mansoor Qureshi

Ontario Weekly Update: Seniors Aging at Home Pilot Program

Ontario Weekly Update September 2025 begins with news that the province has announced a pilot program to help seniors stay in their homes longer. BradfordToday reports that this initiative expands home care and accessibility support so older Ontarians can age with dignity where they feel most comfortable. Families will face less disruption and stress, while the healthcare system may see reduced pressure on long-term care homes. Importantly, the challenge will be ensuring rural and remote communities benefit, not just urban centres.

Ontario Weekly Update: Skills Development Fund Boosts Training

The Ontario Weekly Update September 2025 also highlights that the province has awarded millions through the Skills Development Fund to support training in trades such as electrical work, construction, and environmental safety. Industry news shows that these programs target youth, newcomers, and underrepresented groups. As a result, more Ontarians will gain access to good-paying jobs and employers may face fewer labour shortages. Still, equity of access is crucial: people in Thunder Bay deserve the same opportunities as those in the GTA. Additionally, transportation, childcare, and placements outside big cities need improvement to make training fair province-wide.

Ontario Weekly Update: First Nations Business Directory Launches

The Ontario government and the Chiefs of Ontario have partnered to launch a certified First Nations Business Directory. Chiefs of Ontario confirm that the directory will make it easier for Indigenous-owned businesses to connect with government procurement, industry contracts, and the broader public. This initiative is not only economic; it also supports reconciliation, promotes visibility, and strengthens long-term inclusion. For Indigenous entrepreneurs, access to networks and contracts can lead to stronger local economies and greater independence.

What This Update Means for Ontario

For seniors, the aging-at-home pilot means the possibility of remaining in the houses where they built their lives. For workers, new training paths open steady careers in urgently needed trades. For Indigenous businesses, visibility and procurement opportunities can drive growth and inclusion. However, these programs only matter if they reach every corner of Ontario. Transitioning from policy announcements to real, measurable results will be the true test.

Where Ontario Centrists Stand

We believe in practical investments that improve daily life. Supporting seniors, training workers, and empowering Indigenous businesses all move Ontario toward fairness and accountability. Our focus is to ensure that funding is transparent, accessible, and province-wide. By holding leaders accountable, we can guarantee these initiatives serve families in the north, rural areas, and cities alike. Ontario Weekly Update September 2025 should not only inform but also inspire action toward measurable progress.

Let’s get to work.

A Letter to Durham: Community-Centered Leadership Begins Here

To: Asif Khan
From: Mansoor Qureshi, Leader of the Ontario Centrist Party
Re: Taking Root in Durham – What Local Leadership Requires NowAsif,Thank you for taking on the responsibility of leading our first Constituency Association in Durham. You have earned the trust to build something real, not just symbolic.

Durham is a bellwether region. If Ontario is a puzzle, Durham is the edge pieces. It borders Toronto, touches farmland, holds heavy industry, and houses tens of thousands of commuters. It has urban pain points and rural blind spots. And in politics, it is often treated like a corridor, not a community.

We are here to change that. And you, as Chair, are going to lead the charge not by noise, but by design.

Durham’s Actual Issues and the Role of a Centrist Response

1. Health System Failures in North Durham

Wait times in Lakeridge Health have become normalized. Rural patients in Uxbridge, Scugog, and Brock are underserved and often drive over 45 minutes for care.

Your move: Convene a Health Access Roundtable this summer. Include paramedics, family doctors, nurse practitioners, and patients. Start building our party’s call for regionally allocated walk-in clinics and integrated telehealth staffing, especially for the north.

2. Unsynchronized Transit Across the Region

The GO system is designed for Toronto-bound travel. DRT is fragmented. East-west routes between towns like Clarington to Ajax or Whitby to Pickering are painful.

Your move: Collect a small sample of commuter journey diaries from residents across each zone. Use that to frame a policy brief on intra-Durham transit funding so that young workers, parents, and seniors can move within the region, not just out of it.

3. Incoherent Housing Growth in Clarington, Pickering, and Courtice

Developments are being approved faster than schools and clinics can open. Municipalities are often cornered between provincial mandates and local resistance.

Your move: Publish a Durham Growth Tracker online. Show residents visually where housing is growing faster than infrastructure. Use it to justify CPO’s call for infrastructure-tied approvals. No new major projects without matched school and healthcare investment.

4. Youth Drift: Mental Health, Purpose, and Belonging

Durham’s youth, especially in Oshawa and North Durham, are falling through the cracks. Services are disconnected. Volunteerism is down. Drug use and anxiety are up.

Your move: Propose a pilot Durham Youth Civic Corps, a summer or weekend model that combines recreation, mentorship, and community service. Partner with libraries, mosques, churches, and school boards. We need to prove we can build belonging, not just talk about it.

5. Rural Durham Feels Forgotten

Brock Township, Scugog, and even parts of Uxbridge feel like policy afterthoughts. Internet access, business investment, and mental health support are weak.

Your move: Drive out there. Sit with farmers, firefighters, and co-op boards. Build our case for rural microgrants that support small repairs, mental health check-ins, and tech upgrades. We don’t need to promise millions. We need to show up.

How You Organize: Precision Over Visibility

You do not need everyone to know who you are right away. You need ten well-placed people in ten communities to know exactly what you are doing.

1. Divide the Region

Treat Durham as five regions:

  • North: Uxbridge, Scugog, Brock
  • East: Clarington, Courtice
  • Core: Oshawa, Whitby
  • West: Ajax, Pickering
  • Anchor Hubs: Major transit and health nodes

Assign a local contact or liaison per zone by September. No titles, just real relationships.

2. Monthly Intelligence Loop

Set a rhythm: one listening event, one community visit, and one written dispatch per month. Post it on our blog. Keep it short, real, and helpful.

3. Own One File

Choose one file that Durham residents feel every week. Health, transit, housing, schools — pick one. And become the adult in the room on it. Show up with plans, not punchlines.

Closing Thought

Your credibility will come from rhythm, not reaction.

Start slow, but do not stop. Make our party known not by what we say, but by how we behave.

We do not have legacy baggage. That means we do not have excuses either.

Lead with sincerity. Build in the open. Listen like your life depends on it.

You have my full backing, Asif. Let’s build Durham right.

Mansoor Qureshi
Leader, Ontario Centrist Party
https://ontariocentristparty.ca/