Mike Schreiner urged other parties to steal ideas from this party's platform on Thursday evening after cruising to an easy victory in the Guelph riding for the second consecutive provincial election.
Schreiner returns as Ontario’s only Green MPP in another Progressive Conservative majority.
“The people have spoken. At this critical moment in time, I ask you to consider the financial, the economic and the climate implications of paving over the places we love, the farmland that feeds us and the nature that protects us,” he said during his victory speech at Delta Hotels Guelph Conference Centre.
“We have to work together to make sure this province is climate-ready, to make sure that our infrastructure can withstand the storms we’ve experienced this past month and to make sure our economy is ready to be successful in the emerging markets of the new climate economy.”
Party supporters cheered as results rolled in and were projected onto two large screens in the room. With each update of local riding results, cheers erupted and green-clad supporters waved party signs in the air as Schreiner took an early lead and held onto it.
In the end, he re-claimed the seat with 29,769 votes, up slightly from 29,082 votes he received during the 2018 election, but with an almost 10 per cent drop in voter turnout.
The final numbers for Guelph were:
Mike Schreiner (Green): 29,769 (54.46%)
Peter McSherry (Conservative): 11,159 (20.41%)
Raechelle Devereaux (Liberal): 7,264 (13.29%)
James Parr (NDP): 4,402 (8.05%)
Will Lomker (New Blue): 1,620 (2.96%)
Juanita Burnett (Communist): 251 (0.46%)
Paul Watson (NOTAP): 202 (0.37%)
“Four years ago we made history in Guelph, electing the first Green MPP and we’ve made history again re-electing Ontario’s first Green MPP,” he said to an eruption of cheers. “Over the last four years I’ve fought hard to be your voice and I will fight the next four years to be a strong opposition voice in legislation.”
Though the Green Party didn’t gain any seats at Queen’s Park, its overall voter support level increased.
“We are proving Greens are here to stay,” Schreiner said. “There is a Green wave building across this province.
“We have shown we can do politics differently in this province, that we can work across party lines, that we can put people before politics, put people before partisanship.”
Schriener feels he’s shown a willingness to work across party lines during his first four years in office and pledged to continue doing the same. He also plans to work hard as a member of the opposition to hold the government accountable for its decisions.
“I will ensure I’m amplifying people’s voices at Queen’s Park,” he said during an interview. “We know here in Guelph that people want to protect the farmland that feeds us and contributes so much to our economy, the wetlands that protect us from flooding and clean our drinking water.
“I will continue to mobilize citizen engagements here in Guelph and around the province to make sure those voices are heard at Queen’s Park.”
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
