The district of Nipissing-Timiskaming will continue to feel the historical shock wave of Conservative support following Monday night's federal election results.
The district of Nipissing-Timiskaming will continue to feel the historical shock wave of Conservative support following Monday night's federal election results.
Late Monday night, Conservative candidate Jay Aspin surpassed all expectations and did the unthinkable by pushing Liberal MP Anthony Rota off of his long held political perch.
It was a double victory for Aspin- not only could he declare himself as the unofficial winner in Monday's federal vote, but he also helped cripple the Liberal strong hold that had been put over on the riding for the last ninety years. From a historical point of view, Nipissing- Timiskaming has only once before seen a Conservative election win with Moe Mantha holding the MP title from 1984 to 1988.
It was a remarkable and exciting race that resulted in Aspin leading with 15,507 votes to Rota's 15,493, a mere 14 ballot difference. New Democrat Rona Eckert came in third with an impressive 8,807 votes, while the Green Party's Dr. Scott Daley collected 2,550 votes respectively.
Although it was neck and neck between Rota and Aspin for most the evening, many feel that it was ultimately the advanced polls that pushed Aspin over for the win.
Upon hearing the news of a victory, the crowd erupted with thunderous applause and repeatedly hollered out Aspin's name.
Aspin stopped to clasp the hands and even hug a few of the revellers at the Fox and the Fiddle as he strode into the room beaming, his wife Joanne, and friends at his sides.
He then took the podium and began his victory speech Monday night with a jubilant exclamation, declaring that it is a great day for Conservatives everywhere. He also promised to help bring much needed jobs and long awaited economic prosperity to Nipissing-Timiskaming.
"I'd just like to thank all my supporters and campaign team from the bottom of my heart. I won't let you down.”
“I'll work hard as your MP. I'll make you proud and together we'll grow Nipissing-Timiskaming", Aspin stated confidently.
Rich Stivrins, a Volunteer for the Aspin Campaign and long-time Conservative member, thinks that the Monday's night's government majority win has set Aspin's chance for success up well.
"He (Aspin) is now at the table helping to lead the change instead of just reacting to it. I think that's key to the riding".
Dennis O'Connor, President of the Nipissing-Timiskaming Conservative Association, says that the organization is quite pleased by the results.
"Jay has run a very good and hard campaign. He had a lot of dedicated people working for him".
O'Connor believes that the message of a better outlook and vision that is needed within the riding has resonated with a lot of people.
"It's now time for change", O'Connor said.
Joe Sinacrope, a former Conservative Candidate who squared off against Rota and was defeated during the previous election, said that Aspin is just what the riding needs to succeed.
"It's a conservative majority government. We need a conservative member on the government side that is going to work for us and bring jobs here. Now we've got a shot. Jay will work for us and bring the jobs that are so desperately needed."
Aspin's success mirrored what was happening all in Southern Ontario, as well as across the entire country. Canada was swept up in a large blue tidal wave that not only saw Prime Minister Harper re-elected, but also delivered a majority government eight years after forging a new Conservative Party.
Daryl Vaillancourt, a local city councillor, says that as a conservative member, he is pleased with the outcome of the federal election.
"We have a majority which is a great thing because in any of the agenda things, you want to have happen can move forward and you can get the job done. I think, like everybody, we're going to talk about it for weeks to come", he said.
Vaillancourt thinks that the numbers locally are a reflection of what people want in a government, such as job creation and economic development. Things that, he says, Aspin has centred his campaign promises around.
"It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the next four years,” Vaillancourt said.
Dr. Scott Daley, the Green Party candidate, says that in terms of Monday night’s political outcome, it's clear that national campaigns do matter a whole lot and that's what being reflected in the voting outcome locally.
Dr. Daley says that he is disappointed with the Conservative government majority winning, saying "there's something wrong in this country when you can have all the say in government with most of the people voting against you".
He feels that it's difficult to equate that with a democratic system and thinks that the time is past due for some considerable proportionate representation in Canada where, Daley hopes, every person's vote counts equally.
Daley claims that Canada is one of the last countries in the developed world not to have adopted that in some form and that's why people either vote non-strategically or not at all.
Gordon Rennie, past president of the Conservative Riding Association, disagrees with Daley's sentiments and says that what happened Monday night is a good sign that politics has changed for the better in Canada.
Rennie hopes to see continued conservative strength with the government's economic plan and focusing on jobs.
"At the end of the day the conservatives pushed up at around 40 percent nationally and I think that's been reflected here in Nipissing-Timiskaming,” Rennie said.
Traditionally, Ontario voters prefer having a different party in power federally from the one governing provincially.
With a margin of only 14 votes separating Conservative candidate Jay Aspin ahead of Liberal incumbent Anthony Rota there will be an automatic judicial recount.
