NDP maintains grip on Windsor-Tecumseh

It was an orange crush in Windsor and Essex County election night and in the only open seat, the battle ended with Cheryl Hardcastle taking the win.

Jo-Anne Gignac, who won the Conservative nomination for the riding in May, was expected to make it a close race between the blues and the NDP.

However, the people still said no to the Conservatives, not only locally but federally, electing a Liberal majority government.

Hardcastle maintained the orange hold on the riding with approximately 43.5 per cent of the vote. Gignac received about 14,650 of the ballots cast, while Frank Schiller of the Liberals ran a close third with 26.6 per cent.

Because MP Joe Comartin announced his retirement June 2014, Gignac’s run caused some speculation of a possible NDP ouster in Windsor-Tecumseh.

However, the Oct. 19 result showed otherwise.

At her victory party, Hardcastle said she would fight to make her constituents’ voices heard even with her party now third party opposition to a Liberal majority.

“It looks like things are shaping up now, that we have a real opportunity here to move forward and for all Canadians to be able to embrace the kind of government that we have, you know, new players in the game, new attitude and let’s get this sh** back on track,” said the former Tecumseh deputy mayor.

For Conservatives, tears were shed and comments of disappointment made over their candidate losing the election.

However, when Gignac arrived, it was cheers and applause as she thanked everyone who supported her run.

“All of you gave me and my team the energy to do what was needed to get our message to each and every household in Windsor-Tecumseh and because of you we made a difference,” said Gignac.

The four-term city councillor said she had concerns over not having strong representation at the table and it’s why she ran for the seat.

“I thought it was important to position the city properly and try to get that voice in Ottawa,” said Gignac.

With three NDP MPs in Ottawa and the party in third party opposition, it will be more difficult for Brian Masse (Windsor-West), Hardcastle and Tracey Ramsey (Essex) to benefit Windsor-Essex. They will have less opportunity to speak compared to when the NDP were the official opposition.

Political scientist Lydia Miljan said having the NDP in third means less advantages for the region.

“For both the provincial and the federal Liberals their attacks are going to be coming from the right, they’re really not going to be hearing a lot from Labour voices, NDP voices,” said Miljan.

“They’ll try but they don’t tend to get the same media coverage and as a result it’s difficult to be part of the decision-making and part of the goodies that might be streaming to different ridings.”

Mayor Drew Dilkens also attended the party in support of Gignac. He said now having NDP MPs across Windsor-Essex will make it more difficult but the city will continue to fight for the region.

“It does make it more difficult but we’ll continue to hammer away at whoever’s in government to get our fair share for this community and deliver for the residents of this community,” said Dilkens.

The new Parliament is not required to meet any more than once a year though it is likely Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau will ask the Governor General to summon MPs before then. He did, however, state at a press conference he would name his cabinet the same day he officially becomes PM, Nov. 4.

With files from Tom Morrison, Mediaplex graduate.