Adam Prudhomme
Editor
The Conservative wave of blue that swept across Ontario on election night washed through Hastings-Lennox and Addington as the PC’s Ric Bresee captured the riding with more than 47 per cent of the vote.
Bresee garnered 18,129 votes, placing him well ahead of Eric DePoe of the NDP (7,258 votes, 19 per cent of total votes cast) and the Liberals’ Ted Darby (7,055, 18.5 per cent). Derek Sloan of the Ontario Party was fourth with 2,812 votes (7.4 per cent), Christina Wilson of the Green Party fifth with 1,744 (4.6 per cent) and Joyce Reid of the New Blue in sixth with 1,128 (three per cent). Just under 47 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in Hastings-Lennox and Addington, slightly better than the province as a whole which saw just 4.6 million people take part in the vote, which equates to about 43 per cent. That marked the lowest voter turn out in Ontario’s history, down from the record setting 57 per cent seen in 2018.
Bresee was joined by family, friends, campaign staff and supporters at the Loyalist Golf and Country Club on Thursday night to watch the results roll in with the numbers indicating he captured the riding about half an hour after polls closed at 9 p.m. His wife Heidi joined him at the podium as he made his first speech as MPP elect.
“I think this riding was very supportive and recognized the value of my experience and certainly the endorsement from (incumbent Conservative MPP) Daryl (Kramp) was very helpful as well,” Bresee said about how he was able to connect with voters of the riding. “But they also recognize the value proposition coming from the PCs. We are looking at building and being positive and that’s the way to move forward, that’s the way to thrive as we come out of the pandemic crisis.”
Bresee makes the jump to Queen’s Park after serving on Loyalist Township council, going from councillor to now mayor as well as serving as warden of Lennox and Addington County before suspending his role while running to be MPP. He’ll be part of a majority government as Doug Ford’s conservatives captured 83 seats-63 seats are needed to form a majority. That’s a healthy bump from the 67 seats they held heading into election night.
“It looks like the party is being recognized for the great work we’ve done over the last four years and we’re looking forward to another four years,” said Bresee of the provincial results.
Outgoing MPP Kramp was on hand to congratulate Bresee and informally hand the reigns over to a fellow Conservative.
Daryl Kramp, who is retiring at the end of this term as MPP of Hastings-Lennox and Addington, was on hand to welcome his replacement in Ric Bresee. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
“I was not concerned but I was really, really hopeful that we would have a replacement that will carry on working for the people,” said Kramp. “When Ric’s name came forward, knowing all his years of municipal experience, he knows what it’s about. He knows that he’s representing our people, our riding. And of course now he’s just taking it up to the next level where it’s not just his riding and our riding, but that will be first and foremost and there’s no doubt about it. But there are other municipalities across this province that require different legislation. As an example of that the province is responsible for every municipality in the province.”
No stranger to election nights, Kramp served on municipal council before making the jump to federal and then provincial for the last four years.
“I’ve been through 10 elections now and everyone wasn’t a win so I do know what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence too,” said Kramp. “Hats off to everybody who puts their name forward, regardless of their party. There’s democracy and we should at least be respectful and mindful that people have an opinion and a point of view and thank God we live in a country where we can express that.”
“I’m really confident that not only is Ric up for the job, not only is he capable, he’s going to do a hell of a fine job for us,” added Kramp.
Among those to call to congratulate Bresee was Hastings-Lennox and Addington MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman, daughter of Daryl.
“We will be great partners working for this riding as we move into the future,” said Bresee.
With Conservatives earning a sizeable majority, the NDP will retain status as the official opposition, winning 31 seats while the Liberals grabbed eight. The Greens captured one seat-party leader Mike Schreiner from Guelph. Meanwhile one independent was elected, Bobbi Ann Brady in the riding of Haldimand-Norfolk.
While the Conservatives had plenty to celebrate on the night, both the NDP and Liberals announced their leaders-Andrea Horwath and Steven Del Duca respectively-would be stepping down. It was a particularly trying night for Del Duca as he failed to even capture a seat, losing the Vaughan-Woodbridge riding to Conservative Michael Tibollo.