Fee wins region’s new riding in tight race
Former school board trustee fends off strong challenge from NDP
Progressive Conservative supporters in Kitchener South-Hespeler flocked to the Edelweiss Tavern in Kitchener Thursday night to cheer on local candidate Amy Fee and watch as the party was handed a strong majority mandate.
It was a back-and-forth battle between Fee and her NDP opponent Fitzroy Vanderpool.
“This is a really great opportunity for the province to face its issues in a different way,” said Fee supporter Ana Maria Ruiz. “I hope they will create new jobs and opportunities. We need a change.”
Provincially, over the course of the campaign the PC party saw their lead in the polls collapse and the NDP enjoyed a strong surge in the weeks leading up to the vote. Both parties worked to convince voters that this was an election of change after the governing Liberals managed to hold power for 15 years.
In the days leading up to the vote, Barry Kay, associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University, predicted Kitchener South-Hespeler was likely too close to call, and the six local candidates all made a strong push for votes in the final days and hours before the polls closed Thursday night.
Fee, Liberal Surekha Shenoy, Vanderpool, the Green Party’s David Weber, Libertarian Nathan Andre Lajeunesse and Independent candidate Narine Sookram were all on the ballot.
The new riding includes areas that were formerly part of KitchenerConestoga (won by PC Michael Harris in the last election) and Cambridge (won by Liberal Kathryn McGarry). The riding was formed in 2015 for the federal election and was won that year by Liberal Marwan Tabbara.
The new MPP will speak for a diverse population at Queen’s Park — the 107-square-kilometre riding includes residents in the cities of Kitchener and Cambridge, and a wide range of employment sectors, including the Toyota manufacturing plant, local shops and big box stores.
Prior to the election, Kitchener city councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock, whose ward is at the west end of the riding, said traffic congestion can get particularly bad along Fischer-Hallman Road and Highway 401, meaning two-way GO service and high speed rail should be high priorities.
Alternatively, Stefany Kawka, chair of the Hespeler Village Business Improvement Area, told The Record the provincial government must put a renewed focus on helping small businesses grow and prosper, including grants, loans and small business training programs.
Not everyone waited until June 7 to cast their vote either, as hundreds of thousands of voters participated in advance voting from May 26 to 30. Elections Ontario reported an estimated 768,895 votes were tallied ahead of the election, an increase of almost 19 per cent over the 647,261 who voted at advance polls in the 2014 general election. Voter turnout in 2014 was about 51 per cent.
Thursday afternoon, Elections Ontario said seven of the 7,177 polling stations would remain open later than 9 p.m.
When the election was called, the Liberals held a majority with 55 seats, the PCs held 27, the NDP 18, and the Trillium Party had one seat. There were also two independents and four vacant seats. The 2018 election will also include 17 new ridings, bringing the total number of seats up to 124 — 63 are needed for a majority.
The provincial campaign was marred by mud slinging and attacks by all the major parties. During one of his only campaign stops in the region, PC leader Doug Ford was repeatedly questioned by reporters in Cambridge about allegations one of his candidates may have been involved in an alleged data theft at Highway 407, as well as his illegal attendance at a fundraising dinner in April and his appointment of controversial candidate Mike Harris Jr. in In Kitchener South-Hespeler.
Just days before the election, Ford was also slapped with a lawsuit of more than $16 million by the widow of Ford’s deceased brother Rob.
The NDP also faced criticism for some of its candidates, including local candidate Vanderpool, when he had to clarify his support for samesex marriage. He also faced criticism for past involvement with the Female Oil Wrestling Federation.
The Liberals and leader Kathleen Wynne faced an uphill battle after 15 years in power and were polling third for virtually the entire election. Wynne conceded last Saturday that her party would likely not win this election, but she urged voters to still elect strong Liberal candidates to prevent either a PC or NDP majority and to keep the government honest.