Thunder Bay-Superior North remains red after the 44th Canadian Federal Election.
Incumbent Patty Hajdu won the riding again Monday, holding off strong showings from first-timers Chantelle Bryson (NDP) and Joshua Taylor (Conservative).
During her election night event, Hajdu said regardless of the outcome, she was happy with how her and her team handled the past five weeks.
“I feel positive, I think we ran a really good campaign and I had some fabulous people around me,” says Hajdu. “I was really inspired to be part of a team that has a positive vision and we had a lot of fun and that’s always important on a campaign.”
Hajdu gave a speech after it was officially announced she had won the riding, stressing she will put the people first.
“There’s kind of a saying in Ottawa, there’s two kinds of politicians, politicians that want to be somebody, and politicians that want to do something, and I’m the kind of politician that wants to do things,” explains Hajdu, “I love this job, but I love it because it is such an opportunity to make a better future for the people that we all love. Our parents, our children, the next generation, the people that we see struggling, that’s what politics is about, it’s a tool, it’s a lever, it’s an opportunity to make our region and our country a better place.”
It is unsure whether Hajdu will retain her role as Minister of Health, though she did mention it was an honour to hold the position.
Meanwhile, Conservative candidate for the riding Joshua Taylor believes his campaign went well, and describes what the experience was like.
“Of course there was logistics, really trying to navigate exactly how the system works, getting all of the material printed and ready, and then just really trying to saturate myself in the riding so people became aware of who I was,” says Taylor. “Overall there was a pretty good reception, a lot of people still attribute a lot of stigma to being a conservative, but I think overall I was met with good reception.”
Taylor goes on to say this will not be the last time he represents the Conservative Party come election time.
“I’m absolutely going to be running again, I would say honestly it’s set in stone,” stated Taylor. “This time I’ll have more than about a month and a half to get people to know me, I’ll have according to Trudeau at least 18 months to get myself well known in the community. I’m still going to be going out to community events representing the Conservative Party trying to grow our membership.”
NDP candidate Chantelle Bryson was not available for comment.
