Adam Chambers will represent the Conservatives for Simcoe North in the next federal election.
“Everyone’s run a pretty hard campaign,” said Chambers of the four candidates vying for the position that became available after longtime MP Bruce Stanton announced his retirement a year ago.
“I want to thank everyone who’s been involved, not just on my campaign but on other campaigns. It’s been a long campaign, it’s been a very civil campaign. Everybody’s worked very hard. There’ve been a lot of volunteers, and there’s a lot of support. The voter turnout yesterday and today has been very good, so that tells you that the campaigns have worked very hard."
The three platforms Chambers ran on were fiscal discipline for lower taxes and flexibility of the vulnerable, economic growth to attract community investment and support businesses and trades, and community strength that would build an inclusive infrastructure during this time of economic recovery.
Voting took place in Ramara on Saturday and in Midland on Sunday, with the final tally wrapping up just shy of 6 p.m. today.
“There were roughly 1,600 ballots cast out of 2,400 eligible voters,” said Kirk Farquhar, chair of the local Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate selection committee.
Also running for the nomination were federal election newcomers Marcus Mattinson and Ramara Mayor Basil Clarke as well as return candidate Toyin Crandell.
Mattinson stated of the upcoming election: “The CPC had a nomination where over 2,000 members had an opportunity to vote, and the Liberals decided to appoint a candidate. I think that speaks very highly of our party; that’s the way we do business in Simcoe North. I look forward to seeing folks at the doors of the next federal election.”
Clarke, meanwhile said the nomination selection featured great candidates campaigning during a trying time.
“These were first-class competitors," he said. "We were out trying to meet as many people as we could; it was tough in COVID. It was a very unorthodox campaign, we muddled through, we’re very frustrated with the timelines but hey, that’s the world we live in.”
Crandell was pleased with how the campaign was conducted, sharing,“We’ve had multiple conversations with the other candidates, and it’s been very cordial with one another. I’m glad to have so many qualified candidates running for the same position because it means that whoever wins, our party’s going to have a very solid representation coming out of Simcoe North.”
A formal announcement is expected to be released through the Simcoe North Conservative EDA page on Facebook.
