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Conservatives return to power – Saunderson wins Simcoe-Grey

June 9, 2022   ·   0 Comments

A wave of blue spread across Ontario during the June 2, provincial election as voters had their voices heard and returned Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives returned to power with a majority government.

The Conservatives won 83 seats in the election – seven more than they won in the last election in 2018.

While Premier Ford will return to his office, the election resulted in two party leaders resigning at the end of the night.

The New Democratic Party will form the official opposition after winning 31 seats – down nine from the previous election.

Minutes after winning her seat in Hamilton Centre, NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced she would be stepping down as party leader. Horwath will resign as soon as the party chooses an interim leader.

The Ontario Liberals suffered a humiliating defeat in this election winning only eight seats.

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca announced he will resign the party leadership after the results came in. Del Duca failed to win his seat in his own riding of Vaughan-Woodbridge.

In Simcoe-Grey, Conservative Brian Saunderson came out on top winning 51.2 per cent of the vote.

Saunderson received 27,060 votes. Liberal candidate Ted Crysler took 11,680 while NDP candidate Keith Nunn received 5,838 votes.

Green Party candidate Allan Kuhn received 4,737.

Mr. Saunderson greeted supporters on election night at the Bear Estate in Collingwood when it became apparent he had won the riding.

The mood at the party was upbeat from the beginning.

Simcoe-Grey is a traditional Conservative stronghold and there was little doubt among supporters that the riding would go blue again.

“I guess it’s official now, residents of Simcoe-Grey prefer a Ford over a Crysler,” Mr. Saunderson quipped to the crowd, in reference to Premier Ford, and his riding opponent Liberal Ted Crysler.

Mr. Saunderson is currently the Mayor of Collingwood on temporary leave due to the provincial election. He will have to vacate the Mayor’s office to fulfill his duties as MPP.

Mr. Saunderson thanked both his campaign staff and supporters, saying, “I will be a strong voice for you at Queen’s Park and I will be accessible to you as your MPP for the next four years. Elections are hard work. I want to acknowledge and congratulate my fellow candidates in Simcoe-Grey for their commitment to our democratic process.”

He acknowledged Jim Wilson, the outgoing MPP who has represented Simcoe-Grey for over 30 years.

“There’s big shoes to fill,” Mr. Saunderson said. “Jim’s done and amazing job as our MPP for 32 years. It is an opportunity for me to move up, go to Queen’s Park and champion the issues that our important to our residents – I’m looking forward to that opportunity.”

Mr. Saunderson explained what he meant by those issues.

“Hospitals are of central importance to us in our community,” he said. “Both Alliston and Collingwood are in growth mode, so our populations are going to grow by about 40 per cent over the next 30 years, under the Places to Grow designation. We have to make sure we have the infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and roads to handle that new growth as we move forward.”

“Affordability was also a big issue that increasingly became apparent during the campaign as inflation became an issue,” he continued, adding that his first priority at Queen’s Park would be to “get down with my colleagues at Queen’s Park and get to work on our platform and I would imagine one of the first business orders of the day would be passing the budget.”

By Brian Lockhart

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