Conservative Derek Sloan has unofficially been voted as the MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington getting 41.4-percent of the vote.
Unseated Liberal Mike Bossio posted a statement to his Facebook page thanking those in the riding for allowing to “make a difference in people’s lives.”
“We knew when we set out on this journey that it would be a lot of hard work, but the task never daunted any of us,” Bossio writes “We took challenges as they came and worked for solutions, which have led to a positive difference in so many lives.” He thanked many others including his family and staff but pointed to the volunteers that helped him during his two campaigns and inbetween. “No team could have worked harder, or been better organized and more determined to continue in all our desire to serve the great people of Hastings-Lennox and Addington,” he says.”
He also congratulated Derek Sloan on the win. “His team worked hard, and I do know how much work it takes. I hope that he embraces this experience and realizes the fullness of this opportunity that the people of Hastings-Lennox and Addington have given to him,” Bossio says. He says he looks forward to helping him out in any way he can with the transition.
“The results in my case what I expected, in fatc I got more votes than I thought I would,” the NDP candidate in Hastings-Lennox and Addington David Tough told My Bancroft Now Tuesday. He finished third with 6,840 votes.
He points to the Bloc Quebecois were a “big spoiler” unofficially winning 32 seats, compared to the NDP’s 24. “The advantage Quebec has over other parts of the country is they kind of have a none of the above choice,” Tough says. He adds that he doesn’t think this means there’s a rise in nationalist sentiment but more of them not wanting to vote for the Liberals or Conservatives. “It was an election that no one really won,” Tough adds.
He echoes Bossio comments in congratulating Sloan on the win. “The riding was in good hands from the beginning in the sense that both the front runners are excellent constituency policiains,” Tough says. He says he is confident Sloan will represent the riding well but says he may not have as easy of a go being a part of the official opposition against a minority government.
The Green Party won four seats, including their first-ever outside of B.C., which Hastings-Lennox and Addington candidate Sari Watson calls a “great success.” She says they have never had this level of success at the national level. They also saw success in the Student Vote that was held a week before the election. The results were released Tuesday showing the Greens got 28 seats in the student vote done by CIVIX in partnership with Elections Canada. “They really understand that this is the most important issue for the sustainability of all of us”
“He has big shoes to fill,” Watson says when asked about her thoughts on Sloan. She says the riding is very engaged so she’s sure the consultants will be vocal about what he’s doing if they aren’t in favour of it. “Hopefully he will protect services and not cut services and be an advocate for the environment and the social serices,” she says.
When reached, the People’s Party of Canada candidate Adam Gray said he had no comment on the election.