With the election of two new conservative MPPs representing Barrie comes a host of opportunities to work with other levels of government.
On Thursday night, Progressive Conservative Party candidates Andrea Khanjin (Barrie-Innisfil) and Doug Downey (Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte) both won their respective seats by overwhelming margins and join a PC majority government at Queen’s Park under premier-elect Doug Ford.
Khanjin had almost 10,000 more votes than the second-place NDP candidate, while Downey triumphed by more than 7,500 in his riding, as local voters sent a clear message.
With the provincial ridings now matching the federal boundaries and both levels of government now having conservative representation, Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard said it should be easier to get things done.
“The way the riding boundaries were before, I had two MPPs that I had to work with,” he told BarrieToday while leaving Ottawa, Friday afternoon. “Now I can start to build and foster a relationship with one MPP who will have exactly the same priorities that I have.
“The riding boundary situation right now is a best-case scenario to ensure that MPPs and MPs work together for what are the best and common interests of everyone they represent,” Brassard added.
Some areas where local MPs and MPPs could work closely together include the protection of Lake Simcoe as well as infrastructure needs that come with rapid growth.
“Those are examples of areas where we can cross over and work together,” Brassard said.
“Lake Simcoe itself contributes almost $200 million a year in recreation and tourism dollars,” Brassard said. “A healthy Lake Simcoe means a healthy central Ontario.”
While Brassard and Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Alex Nuttall carry the Conservative flag in Ottawa, their provincial counterpart representing Barrie for the last four years was now-former Liberal MPP Ann Hoggarth. That dynamic changes with a pair of PC representatives coming in to govern Barrie.
“We believe government should live within its means,” Brassard said of the difference between provincial Liberal and federal Conservative ideologies. “The debt and deficit at the provincial level is certainly not something I was happy with in Ontario and I’m certainly not happy about it at the federal level as well. Today’s debt and deficits are tomorrow’s tax increases and service cuts.”
That could change now that everyone is on the same page politically.
“It will change the dynamic locally, I believe,” Brassard said of having PC representation for Barrie at Queen’s Park. “Advocating for better infrastructure both at the provincial and federal level will be helpful.
“The infrastructure money that’s planned for at the federal level goes through the province, so I think it’s a good thing for Barrie. It’s certainly a good thing for Barrie-Innisfil.”
Nuttall says he’s looking forward to working with both Downey and Khanjin, particularly on issues such as the health of Lake Simcoe.
“Certainly, going forward, I think that you will see Barrie on the map,” Nuttall said. “Hopefully, we will have a cabinet minister from our riding on the provincial level and we’ll work to get things done on the people’s behalf.”
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman said the provincial results weren’t unexpected.
“My take on it is it was time for a change,” Lehman said. “I don’t think there was any surprise that people wanted a new government in Ontario.
“We have two new MPPs who are part of the government,” the mayor added. “It’s always good to have government MPPs.”
The mayor said he had spoken briefly to both Khanjin and Downey on Friday morning to offer congratulations and touch on some of the issues facing the city.
“Majority governments, they are able to move things forward,” Lehman said. “The flip side (is) some people can have concerns about whether they’re accountable enough.
“This new government is promising accountability, so we’ll see whether they deliver.”
Neither Brassard nor Nuttall said they were caught off guard by Thursday’s provincial election results, either.
“I wasn’t really surprised, I don’t think anyone was, that there was going to be a change,” Brassard said. “The NDP had some momentum during the campaign, but that momentum seemed to peak over the course of the last two weeks or so.”
Brassard said the electorate was “tired of Liberal debt and deficit, tired of the scandals, tired of the ethical issues, tired of, quite frankly, a very tired government.
“People want to get back to a little more normalcy and a lot better government, a government that looks after the priorities of what people are looking for, not necessarily the plans of what their insiders want,” he added.
Nuttall said the results indicate the sign of the times.
“The people of Ontario voted for, as Premier Ford said, a new day,” Nuttall told BarrieToday.
“The focus ... is going to be putting the province back on track financially and economically, ensuring that our kids are inheriting a province that’s in better shape and no longer a have-not province and pulling its weight within the federation of Canada,” he added.
Nuttall called the Thursday’s PC win “resounding and widespread,” adding both Khanjin and Downey ran “fantastic” campaigns are were rewarded at the polls.
“I wish them all the best and there’s a lot of hard work ahead,” he said.
Lehman thanked Hoggarth for her time as the MPP representing Barrie, including work she did to help Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH).
“We can look back on the last four years and see that there was significant, significant expansion at our health centre,” he said. “Time and again, ministers of health were up here saying that Ann was relentless in pursuit of that funding, so I thank her for her service to Barrie.”
- With files from Shawn Gibson
