While Bev Shipley was happy to be re-elected as the MP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, it was a “bittersweet” win for the veteran politician as it was overshadowed by the overall majority win by the Justin Trudeau-led Liberals.
“First of all I want to say thank you to all of my supporters and volunteers and everyone that helped not only on the campaign, but have stuck with me and have helped me over four elections quite honestly,” he told the Sydenham Current in a telephone interview.
“I am looking forward to going back. It is a bittersweet night because obviously we are not going to be forming the government, but we will be forming the Official Opposition. The whole objective here is to serve the people of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, and I will continue to do that. I did when we were in government and I’ve built a strong relationship with a number of folks on the opposition side. I’ll continue to do that now as we sit in Official Opposition. I’ll continue to do that with the government. That is how you build a reputation and also credibility and when you talk to them about certain needs of your constituents, then you can get their attention.”
Shipley said it appears Canadians wanted some “fresh blood.”
“(The Liberals) sold this message that it was time for change, so in certain parts of the country that resonated,” Shipley said.
“The leadership of Prime Minister Harper has been incredible for this country, which has led to the strongest, most stable financial country in the industrial world after the recession. So all those things, there were certain aspects I guess that a certain number of Canadians said ‘we still need change.’ After 10 years, that becomes a big hurdle to go over. A number of people say, ‘well you’ve been there for 10 years, it’s time to bring in some fresh blood.’ So with that, it would appear that has been the presumption of many Canadians.”
Shipley said he is proud to continue serving this community.
“I’ve got a great diverse riding from one side to the other,” he said. “I love it down in Wallaceburg, Dresden and Thamesville. A very prominent agriculture area. It is a great place to be and I love talking to the people. They are very optimistic and what I like is they are always digging in for their families, for their kids, for sports, if somebody gets in some difficulty, whether financial or a disaster, everybody just pulls in and that is very important.”
Shipley gathered over 50% of the vote in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, followed by Ken Filson of the Liberals at 30%, Rex Isaac of the NDP at 16% and Jim Johnston of the Green Party at 3%.
We’ll provide the final voting tallies on Tuesday.
