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“We all want what’s best for Canadians:” Jamie Schmale is MP-elect for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock

Conservative incumbent MP Jamie Schmale is the MP-elect for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

As of Elections Canada’s update at 3:06 a.m. on Tuesday, 261 out 262 polls in the riding reported that Schmale had 52.6 per cent of the vote: more than double that of Liberal candidate Judi Forbes in second place with 22.5 per cent.

“Unfortunately it was an election that produced the exact same result,” says Schmale. “We spent $610-million to have another minority Liberal government, [and] I think that could have been better spent on a whole bunch of other things. Having said that, we’re ready to get back to work for the people of this riding, and start to advocate for their needs.”

Schmale says his first order of business is continuing to advocate for better telecom connectivity in the riding. He says that for the most part, the provincial government has been leading the way on the matter, and he hopes to press the issue on a federal level.

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“Right before an election, we see a funding commitment by the federal government to get serious about broadband,” says Schmale. “We’ll see if they do, but we’ll definitely be holding their feet to the fire as Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.”

Following Schmale and Forbes is the New Democratic Party’s Zac Miller with 14.4 per cent of the vote, the People’s Party’s Alison Davidson with 7.2 per cent, the Green Party’s Angel Godsoe with 2.6 per cent, and Libertarian Gene Balfour with 0.7 per cent.

Schmale praises the other candidates in the riding, adding that he hopes Liberal leader Justin Trudeau will not call another election within 18 months as he has hinted. He says the Conservatives are ready to work with the other parties to “improve the lives of Canadians,” and calls on Trudeau to do the same.

“I think at the end of the day, we all want what’s best for Canadians and people in our province, in our region, in our riding, but we have different ways of getting there,” says Schmale. “Given that it’s a minority parliament, we’re going to have to work together. We’re prepared to do so, and we’ll offer suggestions based on our platform and some of the feedback we’ve been getting from constituents right across the country.”

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