Menu

progressive conservative

Election -Elections Ontario vote sign June 2022

Two PCs, NDP win seats in Ontario by-elections

, , ,

Early results are in for three Ontario by-elections, and it looks like each party will hold onto their seats.

Progressive Conservative Jeff Beattie won for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek with 38.87 per cent of the vote. NDP Monique Taylor was next up with 32.9 per cent.

The York-Simcoe seat went to PC Susan Lahey, who had nearly half the vote. Liberal Naomi Davison was about 2500 votes behind at just under 39 per cent.

And NDP Fatima Shaban took Scarborough Southwest with 40 per cent support. Runner up Liberal Ahsanul Haiz took 30 per cent.

All of these results are unofficial, as Elections Ontario makes an official count in the coming days.

The two PC ridings were held by cabinet ministers Caroline Mulroney and Neil Lumsden before they announced their decisions to step down earlier this year.

The other was held by former NDP deputy leader Doly Begum, who won a federal by-election for the Liberal party on Monday.

Canadian and nova scotian flags against a blue sky

PC’s Bourgeois takes new Cheticamp‑Margarees‑Pleasant Bay seat

,

Progressive Conservatives candidate Claude Bourgeois has been elected as the first MLA for the new riding of Cheticamp‑Margarees‑Pleasant Bay.

Elections Nova Scotia said Bourgeois received 1,315 votes, or 48.76 per cent of all valid ballots cast.

Liberal candidate Denis Cormier finished with 1,080 votes, followed by the NDP’s Trevor Poirier with 258 and Green candidate Nik Boisvert with 44.

Elections Nova Scotia reported 2,697 valid ballots across all 14 polls.

Turnout reached 68.81 per cent of the riding’s 3,966 registered electors.

The agency said there were 32 rejected ballots and no declined ballots.

The writ will be returned after the official addition on Friday.

Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives said Bourgeois is a lifelong resident, business owner and volunteer in the region.

Premier Tim Houston thanked residents for their support in the party’s statement.

“Nova Scotians are continuing to support a government that’s delivering results and building a stronger future for our province,” Houston said.

Bourgeois also thanked supporters across the district.

“I am honoured by the trust that people have placed in me,” he said.

Cheticamp‑Margarees‑Pleasant Bay was created earlier this year as a protected Acadian constituency under Nova Scotia’s most recent boundary changes.

IMG_3708

Independent MLA Becky Druhan joins Nova Scotia Liberals, plans leadership run

, , , , , , , ,

Nova Scotia MLA Becky Druhan has officially joined the Nova Scotia Liberal Party after months sitting as an independent.

Druhan made the announcement Monday in Bridgewater alongside Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin and Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette.

“This decision is about how I can best serve Lunenburg West and Nova Scotia,” Druhan said.

Druhan said she spent the past several months reflecting on where her values and approach to public service best aligned after leaving the Progressive Conservatives last fall.

“When I left the PC caucus it was a principal decision about leadership and the kind of public service that I believe Nova Scotians deserve,” she said.

She said conversations with constituents played a major role in the decision.

“What I heard from community really was very encouraging in terms of they encouraged me to trust my judgment,” Druhan said. “People want government that is accountable, respectful, responsive and meets Nova Scotia’s needs.”

Druhan was first elected in 2021 as the Progressive Conservative MLA for Lunenburg West. She later served as education minister and then justice minister and attorney general before leaving the PC caucus in October over what she described at the time as differences in principle with party leadership.

Her move increases the Liberal caucus from two seats to three.

During Monday’s announcement, Druhan also confirmed she plans to run for the Liberal leadership once a race begins.

“I do plan to put my name forward,” she said. “But today my focus is on joining the team and working together with the team.”

Rankin called Druhan a “thoughtful legislator” and said her addition is a sign of momentum for the party following several recent nomination events and membership growth.

As part of the Liberal caucus, Druhan will serve as caucus chair and take on critic roles for Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, Addictions and Mental Health, Public Works, Housing, Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, Service Nova Scotia and the Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

She will also sit on several legislative committees, including Public Accounts and Health.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender said in a statement the party wished Druhan well after her move to the Liberal caucus.

Chender also used the announcement to criticize Premier Tim Houston’s government, saying Nova Scotians are seeing “a return to the austerity and short-sighted decision-making that characterized the last Liberal government.”