[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Nationwide election results cast a pall over Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch’s victory party Monday.
Although Leitch held onto her seat with 46.6 per cent of the vote, many of her Conservative party colleagues lost theirs to a Liberal majority.
The local Conservative-Liberal race seemed tight early in the evening but the gap widened in Leitch’s favour as the night went on. In the end, Leitch won the riding with about a 5,000-vote margin over Liberal Mike MacEachern.
Still, it wasn’t until the riding was called at 11 p.m. that Leitch appeared at Station on the Green in Creemore to address the media and about 30 or so supporters.
“We pulled through because of our member, she doesn’t give up,” said campaign chair Ted Rowe in introducing Leitch.
She began her victory speech by thanking voters for returning her for a second term in the House of Commons. She said she was humbled by the outcome and has plans to work hard in the coming years.
“I’ve had the great privilege of talking and listening to thousands of people in this riding over the last couple of months and they have been perfectly clear. They want their member of parliament to focus on keeping their taxes low and doing a great job here in the local area and my responsibility, and I will focus on this, is delivering back to the people in this riding every single day in office,” said Leitch to a round of applause.
She then invited people to be more celebratory.
“You are allowed to be a little more happy,” Leitch told supporters, to cheers and laughter. “Good job,” she added before turning her attention to reporters.
“I am delighted to be reelected. Obviously it’s a privilege to be a member of parliament for Simcoe-Grey and just to be a member of parliament and today we saw democracy in action,” said Leitch. “For myself, the things that I heard again and again going door-to-door were about making sure people have money back in their pockets – keeping their taxes low and creating jobs that are here, locally. That’s what I’ll be focused on when I go to Ottawa.”
Leitch thanked campaign manager Holly Haire for her hard work.
Haire, a first-time campaign manager who works as Leitch’s constituency assistant, said on Election Day the campaign had more than 200 volunteers getting people out to vote and acting as scrutineers.
“It went very well. Obviously emotions were running high because we didn’t want to take anything for granted but when you are running a campaign for such an excellent candidate it got easier as the day went on,” said Haire.
She said Leitch spent the day visiting polls, thanking the voters and volunteers.
“Because without the volunteers, this wouldn’t have happened,” said Haire.
Among supporters Monday night was Leitch’s father Kit Leitch, visiting from Calgary, who spent the day driving people to the polls.
“I am proud of her. I think she has a very good work ethic and I think that’s why she was elected tonight. I think if she hadn’t worked very hard in this riding over the last two months she may have been in a lot more trouble and she may not have won,” he said.
Leitch became interested in politics as a teenager.
Kit said he was president of the Conservative riding association president in Fort McMurray, Alberta and at the end of one election campaign the association was deciding what to do with some leftover funds so they invited local high school students to an upcoming PC convention in Montreal. He said his daughter was among those who signed up.
“They varied from 14 to 17 years old and they had never been in the big city,” said Kit. “And Kellie got the bug. All the young Conservatives that you now see in the party were there.”
Leitch’s role in Ottawa will change now that the Conservatives are the official opposition and she is no longer Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women.
But Leitch was staying in the moment Monday and chose not to speculate as to the how the Conservatives would go about rebuilding the party and what role she might play.
“We will see what the future brings but tonight I am just ecstatic. We have had a great team and a great delivery and I can’t be more proud of my team,” said Leitch.
In his concession speech, Conservative leader Stephen Harper did not say he was stepping down. Instead, his campaign sent out a press release announcing his resignation while he was making his remarks.
The next morning, national media outlets were already speculating as to the possibility of Leitch’s candidacy for party leader.
Simcoe-Grey riding election results
Conservative Kellie Leitch: 30,602 votes – 46.6 per cent
Liberal Mike MacEachern: 25,308 votes – 38.5 per cent
NDP David Matthews: 6,332 votes – 9.6 per cent
Green JoAnne Fleming: 2,923 votes – 4.4 per cent
Christian Heritage Len Noordegraaf: 528 votes – 0.8 per cent
National election results
Liberals: 184 seats
Conservatives: 99 seats
NDP: 44 seats
Green Party: 1 seat
Source: Elections Canada
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