Oshawa NDP candidate Mary Fowler had words of encouragement for the next election despite her loss in this year’s vote. The Oshawa local riding was a close race until the very end. The Liberals with Tito-Dante Marimpietri, the Conservatives with Colin Carrie and Fowler’s NDP were neck and neck for most of the night until Carrie and the Conservatives pulled ahead, with Marimpietri falling into third.
Fowler made her appearance at Whiskey John’s in Oshawa late in the night when the final results were posted. Carrie and the Conservatives won the Oshawa riding with 23,179 votes, with Fowler not behind at 19,356 and the Liberals with 16,601 votes. “I am proud of our campaign,” said Fowler. “We have something to work for and get excited about next time.”
Fowler was nominated in March to represent the NDP in this year’s federal election, which gave the party six months to prepare and run its campaign. With the help from their supporters and volunteers, they were able to claim second place behind the Conservatives with only a 3,823-vote difference. “We have a legion of people who are willing to help,” said Fowler.
Fowler isn’t a newcomer to the election process. She has worked on NDP campaigns before and helped out with politics in her Oshawa municipality. Fowler teaches Grade 3 French Immersion at Julie Payette Public School in Whitby. She also sits on the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario and is the chair for the ETFO Durham’s environmental committee.
There was a surprising number of youth at the event, making up almost half of the attendees. The Durham College and UOIT SA President, Jesse Cullen, made an appearance to show support of the student vote. “I’m happy with the young voter involvement,” said Fowler.
If she could turn the clock back and change anything about her campaign, Fowler wouldn’t have done anything different. “ I have a ridiculously amazing campaign manager,” said Fowler. “We look forward to keep building our campaign and we’re happy to see Oshawa engaged and knowing they will choose to change in the future.”
Despite the loss that the NDP faced, they remained positive throughout the night. A lot of the people were watching the Blue Jays baseball game and even Fowler was keeping track. She ended the night with a large thank you. “Thank you so much for coming tonight… and go Jays!”
