MPP Dave Smith Elected For Second Term In Provincial Election
/It’s four more years for Conservative candidate and MPP Dave Smith as he won the 2022 Peterborough-Kawartha Riding for the provincial election held on Thursday night.
Dave Smith earns back-to-back terms for the Conservative Party. Gary Stewart was the last Conservative MPP for the Peterborough-Kawartha riding to get elected for consecutive terms from 1995-2003. Photo by Luke Best.
Smith won the riding with 20,188 votes, getting a 38.5 per cent share of the ballots. This win marks the start of his second term as MPP.
"Anytime you're an elected official, the whole goal is to help the people that have put you there," said Smith. "For this many people to step forward once again and say, 'we like what you've done, we believe in you, please represent us again,' it's a very humbling experience."
Smith held his election party at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club that had a small and quiet crowd in the final hour before ballots closed at 9 p.m. EST.
The crowd picked up to roughly 80 people once ballots were being counted. It only took 38 minutes since the polls closed before Smith was declared the winner. There were chants of ‘four more years’ and a loud cheer once the result was in.
"When we went out there with Covid, I tried listening to what the challenges were," said Smith. "People recognized that I was there in their corner in a tough time and I was trying to do things that were going to make life better for them."
Smith’s victory was a stepping stone for the Conservative Party as Premier Doug Ford was re-elected to a second term 11 minutes after polls closed. They earned a majority government seven minutes later.
"I think people were happy with what we did over the last four years," said Smith. "They recognized that Premier Ford has a heart of gold and his whole intent is for the people of Ontario.”
Smith says ‘the work is not done yet’ as he has several issues he wants to tackle after being re-elected. He says he has a start on addressing the healthcare challenges in the province by rebuilding the economy and getting people jobs first.
"When the economy is moving well, we have more money as government to do all of the extra things we need to support people," he said.
Smith notes that more work needs to be done in healthcare, long-term care, education skills trades, natural resources, forestry and Indigenous affairs.
The following were the results of the Peterborough-Kawartha Riding:
Dave Smith (Conservative) - 20,188 votes (38.5 per cent)
Greg Dempsey (Liberal) - 16,021 votes (30.6 per cent)
Jen Deck (New Democratic) - 11,210 votes (21.4 per cent)
Tom Morazzo (Ontario Party) - 1,973 votes (3.8 per cent)
Robert Gibson (Green) - 1,914 votes (3.7 per cent)
Rebecca Quinnell (New Blue) - 1,078 votes (2.1 per cent)
