Jill Dunlop has been re-elected as MPP of Simcoe North.
On a night when Doug Ford easily won a second term as premier in a second consecutive majority government, Dunlop’s solid victory in a Tory stronghold was not a surprise.
While final results are not yet in, Dunlop was more than 11,500 votes ahead of her rivals as of 10:30 p.m. with 65 of 74 polls reporting.
“I’ve had the honour and the privilege for serving Simcoe North within the past four years, as your MPP, but also as a minister, and travelling this province and seeing the other areas always makes me appreciate what we do,” said Dunlop, who was savouring the electoral triumph with supporters tonight at Bonaire Golf in her hometown of Coldwater.
“(I’m) honoured to represent and to continue representing for four more years,” Dunlop said.
The 47-year-old is a member of Ford’s cabinet, serving as the minister of colleges and universities. Previously, she was associate minister of children and women’s issues.
Dunlop is part of a political dynasty. Her mom, Jane Dunlop, is the long-time deputy mayor of Severn Township, while her father, Garfield Dunlop, was MPP in the riding from 1999 to 2015.
Rookie Liberal candidate Aaron Cayden Hiltz is neck and neck with NDP candidate Elizabeth Van Houtte, according to the Elections Ontario website.
Hiltz says he’s proud of the campaign he ran during his first foray into provincial politics.
“It’s been awesome,” Cayden Hiltz says. “We worked our butts off. It’s been incredibly rewarding.”
Cayden Hiltz challenges Dunlop to do a better job representing Simcoe North residents if she hopes to win again.
“I hope that after the campaign she realizes how important accountability is and not be an absentee MPP,” Cayden Hiltz says, noting he’ll be closely monitoring Dunlop’s performance over the next four years.
Van Houtte said she's disappointed with Ford's win.
"I'm disappointed," she said while watching the results at Finn McCools in downtown Orillia. "We ran the strongest campaign here in Simcoe North that has ever been run with the most amount of volunteers and supporters."
Green party candidate Krystal Brooks, running for the first time provincially, is in fourth place with almost 3,800 votes. She is followed by Mark Douris of the New Blue Party, Aaron MacDonald of the Ontario Party and William Joslin of the Libertarian party.
Voter turnout was about 41% according to Elections Ontario, which noted there were 100,762 registered voters in Simcoe North.
Watch here for updates and reaction from the local candidates.
