Federal election 2015: Northeastern Ontario needs more candidates

It is day three of the federal election campaign, with 75 to go until voting day.And for some parties in northeastern Ontario, part of that time will be spent finding candidates to put on the ballot.

While the election call was a surprise, the fact it was coming was not. Most parties have already been busy recruiting candidates.

But the governing Conservatives still need someone to carry their banner in the ridings of Nickel Belt and Timmins-James Bay.

Steve Kidd, the president of the Timmins-James Bay Tories, said he hopes to have a candidate in place by week's end.

He said running for office is a big time commitment, especially with such a long campaign and many qualified candidates have had to bow out.

"It would likely be very, very overwhelming for a lot of people to truly understand how much work is truly involved," he said.

"The reality is that our schedule is to get the best candidate available at the earliest possible convenience."

The Green Party also has some work to do in northeastern Ontario, with four ridings still needing a candidate.

But communications director Julian Morelli isn't worried about a late start.

"We're still filling in some spots, but other parties are as well," he said. We're in better shape than we've ever been in going into this election."

There is plenty of time for would-be MPs to get their names on the ballot, as nominations don't close until Sept. 28.