2011 Provincial Election Results London Area

[MolsonExport]

Did your candidate get in? I voted Liberal, and Chris Bentley (my riding rep in London West) was comfortably reelected.

The PCs did however make major gains in the region.

Tories cut into Liberal stronghold
CITY AND REGION: THE CONSERVATIVES ADD FIVE SEATS AND THE NEW DEMOCRATS ONE AT THE GRITS' EXPENSE
By CHIP MARTIN, THE LONDON FREE PRESS
Last Updated: October 7, 2011 7:54am

The Progressive Conservatives fared better in the 10-riding London region than provincewide, picking up two vacant Liberal seats, snatching two more from the Liberals and taking down two cabinet ministers.

Thursday's election also brought the return of NDP orange to London, with Teresa Armstrong picking off Liberal backbencher Khalil Ramal in London-Fanshawe for the party's first London win since 1995.

Also in London, Health Minister Deb Matthews and Attorney- General Chris Bentley held onto their seats, London North Centre and London West.

But the Tories picked up Chatham-Kent-Essex and Elgin- Middlesex-London, where longtime Liberals bailed before the election, and held onto Sarnia- Lambton and Oxford.

Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell was unseated in Huron- Bruce as was Environment Minister John Wilkinson in Perth- Wellington after a dogfight with Conservative Randy Pettapiece, owner of a decorating business and former local politician.

Before the election, the Liberals held eight of the London region's 10 seats, the Tories two.

After Thursday night, the scorecard was seven seats for the Tories, two for the Liberals and one for the NDP.

read more here: http://www.lfpress.com/news/ontarioe.../18794681.html

[manny_santos]

I voted for PC Ali Chahbar in London West. Obviously he didn't get in.

I would bet some of the PC's gains in other parts of Southwestern Ontario were related to opposition to wind turbines.

[MolsonExport]

^it has gotta come from somewhere.

[haljackey]

I ended up voting for Gary Brown, the green candidate for London West.

I've had it with the major parties doing utter crap in this province. You could say my vote was a waste, but with less than 50% turnout, it was worth more than you think.

[Pimpmasterdac]

It was all pretty predictable London-wise.

London-Fanshawe went NDP like their federal counterparts. Elgin-Middlesex went PC. Chris Bentley is a terrific MPP, so there was little doubt that he would cost to victory, and London North-Centre is always some vote splitting riding, this time between PCs and NDP.

The main question province wide is whom from the NDP is going to cross the floor to give the Liberals a majority? With a 1 seat difference I'm sure the Liberals are sending out feelers to see who would cross for a cabinet position. Why get a coalition when you can throw a plumb cabinet seat and get your way!

Overall PCs ran a pathetic campaign, to a pathetic election. As someone who is a conservative supporter, he came off as the definition of mushy. Refused to fulfill true conservative policy via his rhetoric yet couldn't convince undecideds he was worthy.

My only hope is the PCs & NDP cripple McGunity (a la Martin) bring him down, and run on a true platform without this "Ontario families" twaddle. Liberal caving to unions and special interest demands is unbelievable for ANOTHER 4 YEARS!!!

[Snark]

^ I didn't know Glen Beck posted here.

[Pimpmasterdac]

^ I didn't know Kim Jong Il read London SPP

[haljackey]

Who am I? Castro?

[ForestryW]

Ah, North America, where lefties are automatically commies and the righties are automatically tea-partiers and anyone in between isn't taken seriously.

[MolsonExport]

Perhaps I am Ahmedinajad, with my rhetoric.

[Pimpmasterdac]

Seems other people think the Liberals will try and get some NDPer to switch.

TORONTO -- Opposition MPPs shouldn't be surprised if Liberal lotharios start whispering sweet nothings in their ears, veteran New Democrat Peter Kormos said Friday.

"The Liberals will be trying to seduce someone on the opposition benches," Kormos, the outgoing and outspoken member from Welland, said. "They will try and convince someone from the opposition to be speaker."
...
But it's a significant perk to dangle, especially for an MPP nearing retirement.

"It's the highest-paid position in the legislature," Kormos said. "It's usually the cap on your career."

http://www.lfpress.com/news/ontarioe.../18798831.html

[Dr Nevergold]

^I hope at least one Tory or NDP'er switches. I'll take a page out of Hudak's book... It isn't healthy for rural Ontario to be so Tory blue, it simply is unfortunate. They need to have a few MPP's to switch over and join the Liberal family.

Hudak keeps getting things wrong, and he keeps reading things the wrong way. There were a few 905 ridings that clearly went Tory... Look what happened in Aurora-Newmarket, for example. Thornhill is another example. The fast growing and urbanizing Halton region went Tory blue, as did Burlington. Both Oshawa ridings and Durham went Tory blue... The Liberals didn't win every last bastion of the GTA, and the 7 ridings I just mentioned are essentially the same number of seats Hudak picked up, and they are all in the GTA.

This isn't a Toronto vs Ontario situation, as Mr. Hudak's divisive politics would like for us to believe, this is an urban/rural difference of opinion. Hudak may have won his Niagara west-Glenbrook riding, which is rural. But the urban Niagara districts both went Liberal. Niagara Falls and St Catharines have a Liberal MPP, Welland went NDP as usual. The entire eastern half of the Niagara Peninsula didn't go Tory blue and it isn't in Toronto... Western Hamilton, Brantford, Guelph, and Kitchener elected some Liberals. Windsor elected some Liberals. London elected Liberals. Peterborough elected a Liberal. Ottawa elected Liberals. Despite the north being NDP friendly, Thunder Bay elected Liberals... Both Thunder Bay area ridings went Liberal red, and that is about as far from Toronto as it gets. Sault Ste Marie? Liberal red, again.. Central Sudbury? Yea, you got it, its Liberal red.

Seeing a trend here?

Mr. Hudak, get it right for a change. You didn't lose Toronto, you lost urban Ontario collectively with very few exceptions. McGuinty has support from all corners of Ontario, and its all urban Ontario. Just because those huge blue ridings in rural Ontario are physically large doesn't mean there are many people living in them. He lost Ontario, he didn't lose Toronto.

Hudak simply can't win for losing, and he can't even read the results right. Quite frankly the NDP's rise was more impressive than Hudak's increase in the vote share.

Now, hopefully McGuinty can keep the positive energy going, rebuild a relationship with rural Ontarians and in 4 years Ontario can get a 4th straight Liberal mandate (with or without McGuinty as leader). He's made important investments in rural Ontario, think of the massive wind farms in Chatham, and hopefully people can move on from the HST and realize it was the prudent and right thing to do. The HST is the single most contentious policy that was implemented in the past 8 years, and that is what caused McGuinty's goverment to drop in popularity somewhat... But most of that apparently went to the NDP, which isn't too disturbing IMO.


---
*EDIT*
And as an addendum, I want to say that Hudak has virtually no support in urban Canada and no support in the north. He won southern rural Ontarians with divisive politics and an anti-urban, anti-diversity message and by screaming bloody murder over the HST and wasteful spending. It was a scare-tactic campaign. Most all of urban Canada that wasn't won by the Liberals was supported by the NDP, as well as the rural north.

Liberals may have a minority, but McGuinty is right. It is a major minority. Liberals have seats on every corner of Ontario. They have them in the north, they have them in Ottawa, they have seats in Niagara, they have seats in Windsor, they have Toronto. It is clearly a "major" minority, and a hopeful majority if at least one Tory or Dipper can flip and represent their constituents with real gravitas of being in the majority government they would choose to become part of. Just imagine the gravitas and bargaining power the single MPP would have if he switched and gave Dalton McGuinty a majority. It'd be good for Ontario to have a majority, it would be good for the riding and the MPP would have instant power in a new Liberal government. The signs are there that someone (or a small group) could switch and make this major minority another majority.

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by Brandon716

^I hope at least one Tory or NDP'er switches. I'll take a page out of Hudak's book... It isn't healthy for rural Ontario to be so Tory blue, it simply is unfortunate. They need to have a few MPP's to switch over and join the Liberal family.

What's so unhealthy about it? Rural Ontario voted for the party they thought best represented their interests. Isn't that what democracy's all about? Or are their views somehow less worthy than your own? The Hudak statement was just as insensitive and asinine, so why would you turn around and start spewing the same garbage?

Originally Posted by Brandon716

Just because those huge blue ridings in rural Ontario are physically large doesn't mean there are many people living in them.

Aside from your questionable analysis of Hudak playing "divisive politics" on urban-rural lines (when the hell was this showing up in the campaign???), those rural ridings have roughly as many people as the urban ones McGuinty picked up. They're all designed to have approximately 1 representative per 100,000 population.

Also, how can you so confidently proclaim that Hudak "lost Ontario"? How can you claim that he has no support in urban Ontario when he only received ~2% less of the popular vote? There are obviously plenty of people in the cities who wanted some sort of Conservative representation, but they didn't manage to get it because of the FPTP system we use. I believe you were whining about this once before... ah yes, it's the famed "democratic deficit" from the federal election, where all the left-wingers were decrying Harper's "false majority" attained with only 40% of the vote. Notice this phenomenon is forgotten about once it benefits the Liberals and their supporters.

Of course, I'm perfectly happy with this system and I will not argue in favour of PR since it still benefits my federal Conservatives, just pointing out the premise of your assertions. Complain, complain, complain when it helps the Conservatives, but everything is A-OK when McGuinty gets a free ride.

[haljackey]

Welp, by-election called for London West. The seat has been empty since Bentley resigned.

Seeing how I still hate all 3 main parties, I'll probably vote Green again. (I'd vote PC if their leader/policies weren't so wacko.)

[MolsonExport]

PC leader looks so d'uh hyuck-hyuck-hyuck


whofuckingcareswhereitisfrom.com

Now, if the only issue were to dismantle the beer store, he would have my vote. Otherwise, he will not.