Huron Expositor, 2014-06-18, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Lisa Thompson wins re-election in Huron -Bruce
Dave Flaherty, Troy Patterson
and Patrick Bales
QMI Agency
Huron -Bruce Progressive
Conservative incumbent Lisa
Thompson will once again rep-
resent the local riding at Queen's
Park after victory Thursday's
provincial election.
According to preliminary
results, Thompson captured
39.06 per cent of the votes,
ahead of Liberal candidate Col-
leen Schenk at 30.86 per cent
and NDP candidate Jan John-
stone was third with 22.86 per
cent.
Thompson's supporters gath-
ered at the Wingham Golf and
Curling Club to celebrate her
victory.
The former general manager
of the Ontario Dairy Goat Coop-
erative reflected on the cam-
paign and those supporters as
she opened an early lead.
"As the results come in. . . I
feel so good because of volun-
teers that worked so hard," the
Teeswater native said.
"It is such a good feeling to
know that your vision and your
commitment to a riding is
embraced by so many people,
from one corner of the riding to
another:'
Thompson was confident that
victory was in her sights.
"We're going to win this
because of people's desire to get
Ontario back on track," said
Thompson, who lives on a farm
with her husband and three
stepchildren.
Thompson was one of the
Ontario PC party's more ardent
critics of the Green Energy Act.
As she hoped for re-election, she
said making energy more afford-
able for her constituents was her
number one priority, as it was
the concern she heard most
often as she was knocking on
doors and during her telephone
town hall.
"I am never going to stop the
fight against the needless
scheme of green energy that
failed for the Liberal govern-
ment," Thompson said. "We
have to do so much better in
terms of bringing energy into an
affordable realm"
Schenk was a solid second in
the riding with 14,610 votes
compared to Thompson's
18,492.
Schenk called her campaign
"a great learning experience"
and noted that she had spent a
significant amount of time talk-
ing one-on-one with voters.
She acknowledged green
energy was a hot issue in Huron -
Bruce but said she felt many vot-
ers focused on the Liberal par-
ty's past.
Schenk said that while she
made a great connection with
voters, many people told her
they were not happy with this
election being called.
Schenk said she thinks
Huron -Bruce is missing a voice
for rural issues at Queen's Park.
Johnstone was third 10,824
votes.
"I'm very, very proud of our
NDP team in Huron -Bruce," she
said.
"We worked very, very hard.
We knocked on many doors and
made many phone calls. It was a
very exciting race and we had a
QM! Agency
Lisa Thompson talks with volunteer
Wayne Douglas while watching
the results from the 2014 Ontario
provincial election come in on
television at the Wingham Golf and
Curling Club.
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lot of momentum in the southwest
region for the NDP."
Johnstone congratulated her com-
petitors and Lisa Thompson in
particular.
"I'm very proud to be a New Democrat
who represents working people and rural
people in Huron -Bruce," she said.
Johnstone was followed by Green
Party candidate Adam Werstine
(1,642 or 3.47%), the Family Coali-
tion's Andrew Zettel (1,328 or
2.80%), Libertarian Max Maister
(323 or 0.68% and the Equal Parent-
ing Party's Dennis Valenta (127 or
0.27%).
Kathleen Wynne leads Liberals to victory
Don Peat
QM' Agency
It's a Wynne win.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is
going back to Queen's Park with a
majority government after Thursday
night's stunning election win.
After 40 days on the campaign trail,
Wynne ran away with a victory and
enough seats to form a majority
government.
Taking to the stage just after 11 p.m.
to her campaign theme song, Katy Per-
ry's "Roar," Wynne called the vote a
"strong mandate."
"You voted for jobs, you voted for
growth, you voted to build Ontario up,"
Wynne said in her victory speech at the
Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto.
"We're not going to leave anyone
behind."
Speaking directly to voters, Wynne
promised to respect them.
"You have put your trust in us and
we will not let you down," Wynne said.
"I will work every day to earn and
keep the confidence of the people of
Ontario."
Wynne - the province's first openly
gay premier - thanked her wife Jane
Rounthwaite who joined her on stage
to raise their hands together in victory.
The vote is another milestone - it
marks the first time the province has
elected a female leader to the premier's
job.
In her speech, Wynne called Ontario
a "where anyone can be the premier."
"This is a beautiful, inclusive place
that we live in," she said.
= Family Coalition Party
PI
Strong Families... Strong Ontario
Thank you
for supporting the families of
Huron -Bruce.
Your vote has helped us send a
message to Queen's Park!
Thursday's win continues the
Liberals' 11 -year grip on power at
Queen's Park and breaks the shack-
les of minority government status.
It also marks Wynne's first success-
ful test as Liberal leader with the
electorate and the second loss
served up to Progressive Conserva-
tive leader Tim Hudak - who
resigned as leader shortly after the
results were announced.
Not surprisingly, Wynne also man-
aged to keep her own seat. She was re-
elected Thursday night in Don Valley
West - she's held the Toronto seat since
2003.
Wynne went into the election with a
provincial budget aimed at crowding
the NDP on the left side of Ontario's
political spectrum and drawing a clear
line between the Grits and the PC's.
In lead -up to Election Day, Wynne
cast herself as the only leader prepared
to move the province forward.
Throughout the campaign she ham-
mered the Tories promise to cut
100,000 jobs and vowed her party,
rather than the NDP, was the only one
that could keep Hudak from becoming
premier.
But it was a rocky campaign for
Wynne.
She spent most of the last six weeks
dogged by Liberal scandals and had a
poor performance in the lone leaders'
debate where she had to repeatedly
apologize for the gas plants scandal.
The province's 25th premier swept to
power back in January 2013 by defeat-
ing rival Sandra Pupatello in the Lib-
eral leadership race to replace then
Premier Dalton McGuinty.
She won't have long to relax after
this victory.
Wynne promised on the campaign
trail that she would bring the legisla-
ture back to work within 20 days to
pass the budget if the Liberals were
elected. She repeated the pledge
Thursday night.
"We've got work to do," she said.
Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly - who
came out endorsing Wynne last week -
issued a statement Thursday congratu-
lating the premier and the other win-
ning candidates.
"It is great to see that democracy is
alive and well in Toronto," Kelly said. "I
would also like to congratulate Premier
Kathleen Wynne on her re-election
and I look forward to continuing to
work with her on key priorities such as
public transit, social housing and
infrastructure