Ontario’s minister for heritage, sport, tourism and culture is singing Kingston’s praises after a local man rushed to her aid when her car broke down on Highway 401.
Lisa MacLeod said she was on her way back from Queen’s Park to her riding in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon when her check engine light came on and her car started smoking.
“I pulled off at the side of the road, but the transport trucks, they were coming and I was really, really nervous,” MacLeod said in an interview Friday.
The minister was able to take her car off the road at the Gardiners Road exit in Kingston, but then the car stopped completely near a service station. This is when a Kingston-area man, Neil Swan, came to her aid.
“He just ran from I don’t know where from. He knew nothing about me, came over and he said, ‘pop your trunk,’ and he went right underneath the hood. He couldn’t see what was the problem. So then he went right under the car, right under the vehicle. And I’m just amazed,” she said.
Swan, who works for Greenshield Pest Control in Kingston, said he had no idea who she was when he stopped to help her.
“I just saw the smoke and somebody in need, and I’m just somebody who wants to help,” Swan told Global News over the phone Friday.
Swan said he wanted to check her engine to make sure it wasn’t on fire, and after speaking to the minister for a while, said he would be on his way.
Instead, he came back with lunch.
“God love him. He comes over with a root beer from A&W and a hamburger, and I’m like, this is the nicest person in the world,” MacLeod said.
“First, I wanted to make sure she was alright, but then I thought she might be there for a while and she might be hungry, so I grabbed her something,” Swan said.
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MacLeod says while the two were talking, Swan kept boasting about his city.
“He is so proud of Kingston. He was talking about all the great hotels in Kingston to the tourism minister! He didn’t know I was the tourism minister. I just love that,” MacLeod said.
She felt like his act of kindness needed to be shared with the local community, so she posted a selfie the two took Thursday to her social media streams and even went so far as to call his company to commend him.
“We are truly proud of our employee and glad he was able to help brighten the day of Lisa Macloed,” said Curtis Monnier of Greenshield Pest Control.
For his part, Swan went about his workday on Friday, unaware that MacLeod was telling the story of his act of kindness. MacLeod said beyond her personal gratitude for what Swan did, as the tourism minister, she wanted to highlight Swan’s actions as an example of what Kingston has to offer when travel to the city becomes safe again after the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think to the tourism folks in Kingston, they will probably have a great sense of pride in what Neil did, because it really showcases the fine points of Kingston as a beautiful city, historically and culturally so relevant to all Canadians. But again, the people of Kingston are what makes it just incredible,” she said.
Even Kingston’s Mayor Bryan Paterson got in on the conversation Friday.
“Thank you Neil for unwittingly pumping up (Kingston tourism) to the Minister of Tourism,” he said in a tweet.
MacLeod said next time she comes to Kingston, she wants to repay the favour and take Swan out for lunch.
“I think we’ll go downtown Kingston somewhere. There’s so many great restaurants, and really just get to know him a little bit better because I was a little bit flustered,” she said.
Swan said he wasn’t looking for recognition or payback. He was simply pleased to hear that she made it home safely.
As for lunch with the minister, Swan said he’s all in.
“If she wants to buy me lunch, I have no problem with it,” he finished.
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