Guelph mayor Cam Guthrie made sure he was one of the first to congratulate Mike Schreiner, after the Ontario Green Party leader was elected MPP for the Royal City on Thursday night.
Schreiner’s victory was historic as he became the first Green Party member to be elected to the Ontario legislature and Guthrie said he looks forward to working with him.
“I know his passion for Guelph, even prior to the vote tonight. I know that he’s authentically wanting to really represent Guelph in a really great way,” Guthrie said after congratulating Schreiner on his victory.
Guelph’s political landscape at Queen’s Park now takes an abrupt shift going forward.
After 15 years with Liberal MPP Liz Sandals and a governing Liberal Party, Guelph now has a Green MPP and a Progressive Conservative government under premier-designate Doug Ford.
When asked if this shift concerns him, Guthrie said it does not.
“It doesn’t worry me at all because having someone like Mike and myself working together only amplifies and elevates the Guelph voice that much more across the province,” Guthrie explained.
“If we’re both fighting for the same types of things that our city needs, I believe our collective voice will be loud of enough with a PC majority government to hear us.”
In his victory speech on Thursday night, Schreiner said he wants to be a “champion” for Guelph and representing the Royal City will be his top priority.
“I will work hard to have Ontario leap into the future and embrace the clean economy, and I believe Guelph will lead that change,” Schreiner said.
Schreiner easily defeated PC candidate Ray Ferraro by about 15,000 votes to capture the Guelph riding.
Comments