Ontario’s newest MPP sworn in at Queen’s Park

The newest member of Ontario’s legislature was sworn in on Thursday as the Green Party celebrated its caucus doubling in size.

In a brief ceremony at Queen’s Park, Aislinn Clancy was officially inducted as the new Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre.

She joins leader Mike Schreiner in the party’s Ontario caucus.

The former city councillor told Global News rental reforms and the environment were among her top priorities, while bringing local Kitchener issues to discussions at the legislature.

“Already I feel like Greens really move the needle,” Clancy said. “We come forward with holistic solutions to different items. We raise awareness and shed light on scandals or egregious errors and harm that’s done to the community.”

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Clancy said that, while she would work to hold the government account, she would cooperate with the Progressive Conservatives as well to help bring investment to her Kitchener Centre community.

“My job is to make sure I can ensure that we meet the needs of the people of Kitchener Centre. That means connecting, especially with local MPPs, to move things forward for our region and getting solutions forward.”

She said she hoped to make her local constituency office very open and accessible to residents.

Clancy collected 47.99 per cent of the vote in November, while another city councillor, NDP candidate Debbie Chapman, finished with 26.73 per cent of the vote.

Schreiner celebrated the swearing-in on Thursday, saying the election proves his party must be taken seriously.

“I think it just shows that Greens are here to stay and there’s momentum building for the Ontario Green Party,” he told Global News.

“First of all people say, ‘You’ll never elect a Green in Ontario.’ And then when we elected a Green in Ontario, people said, ‘This is like a one-seat wonder, you’re not going to elect another Green.’ We almost won in Perry-Sound Muskoka in the last election, we just won in Kitchener Centre — and people are excited.”

The riding is also represented by the Green Party in Ottawa as Kitchener Centre voters elected Mike Morrice as their MP in 2021.

— with files from Global News’ Kevin Nielsen