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Bramalea-Gore-Malton: NDP’s Singh squeaks to winOctober 06, 2011 Chantaie Allick
For the first time in the riding's short history a New Democrat MP will represent Bramalea-Gore-Malton at Queen's Park. Jagmeet Singh won in a race that was too close to call right up to the end.
“I'm extremely excited to start working for the people of Ontario. I had a strong feeling the community members were behind me and I'm honoured to represent them,” said Singh immediately after the win.
While there were seven candidates in the riding, the ones most watched were the Progressive Conservatives’ Sanjeev Maingi, NDP’s Singh and Liberal incumbent Dr. Kuldip Kular.
Bramalea-Gore-Malton, which straddles Brampton and Mississauga, was a key riding in the election.
It was expected to be a three-way race from the beginning. In the federal election the riding, an 18-year Liberal stronghold, was won by the Conservatives, which left many wondering how things would turn on Oct. 6. In addition, Singh ran federally in May and lost by just 500 votes.
He received 19,000 votes in the federal election. “A lot of those same people want to vote for me again and more,” Singh had said in the week before the election. “If everyone comes out to vote we can pull it off.”
A poll conducted on the weekend had Singh ahead of his opponents at 35.4 per cent support, Kular with 31.7 per cent and Maingi further behind at 24.4 per cent.
Singh, 32, a lawyer, is decades younger than his two primary opponents and it showed in his responses during a televised debate held in the riding. While the other candidates stayed on message in stilted, rehearsed sound bites, he was quick to answer questions and challenged his opponents on their record and platform.
“The Liberals have had four years to fulfill this promise and they haven’t. So how can we trust them again?” Singh said about redevelopment of Peel Memorial hosipital. Maingi repeated the same sentiment shortly after.
The Liberals announced new funding for the completion of Peel Memorial hospital in September, days before the election was called. Both Maingi and Singh questioned the timing of the announcement during televised debates in the riding. The hospital was closed in 2007 and has been sitting vacant since then.
Clad in a grey three piece suit and black turban, Singh stood out beside his opponents dressed in box cut dark suits.
Singh also tried to engage a younger segment of the riding’s population during his campaign. He was the only candidate on YouTube with a satirical video about him.
Singh’s campaign was one run by young people. “We did it, we did it,” the young volunteers, who filled the hall at his celebration, kept repeating with claps and high fives.
He says the success of both his campaigns “showcases what young people can do when they come together.”
The area’s new MPP must now find ways to create jobs in the region which was hard hit by job losses in 2010, particularly in manufacturing.
The riding is also faced with an exploding population and the many challenges that come with it, including a strained health-care system. It saw a 27.4 per cent growth between 2001 and 2006.
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