According to unofficial results, the PCs beat the Greens by just 2,144 votes—by no means a landslide when you consider that a total of 44,522 votes were cast. That means 40.7 per cent of those who voted, voted Green compared to 45.4 per cent who voted PC.
The narrow divide, plus the fact that the Greens almost doubled their vote since 2018 (from 9,438 votes to the unofficial 18,102 votes this time around)—votes that have been steadily increasing with every elections—is a clear indication that people in this riding are getting tired of politics as usual, said Parry Sound-Muskoka Green Party candidate Matt Richter.
“I can only speculate what would’ve happened if more… voters came out to vote but at the same time, we live with what happened and we doubled our vote,” he noted.
He said finding solutions to the affordable housing crisis, ensuring that health care really looks after our elderly in a meaningful way and brings mental health into the OHIP plan, and a genuine commitment to tackling the climate crisis are things that matter to people.
Richter also said he hopes the PCs, truthfully and honestly, reconsider the $10 billion highway project “when that money can go to so many other pressing needs,” he said, adding that reversing the decision to build Highway 413 which would destroy valuable farmland is the right thing to do.
Richter sent Smith a congratulatory message but also a reminder that being the MPP for the riding is a tremendous responsibility. “It’s not a one-off when people ask for politics to be done across party lines, and for politics that put people ahead of party and I really hope that following this election, that we see Graydon showing up at different events where policy is being discussed so that people can be heard,” said Richter, who wished Smith the best in his new role as Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP.
Richter addresses supporters following the election results at Canvas Brewery in Huntsville.
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