Whitby’s NDP candidate, Ryan Kelly, lost in the federal election to the Liberal candidate, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, by 22,104 votes October 19. But although the voting polls may be closed and the winner of the 2015 federal election has been announced, this does not mean the passion and high hopes of opposing voters and candidates has been lost.
“It’s such a tremendous experience to be a candidate, to stand behind all of the progressive ideas that the party stands for,” said Kelly. “It’s something I have been excited about for many years.”
A supporter of Kelly and his campaign is Whitby resident, James Booth.
“I have been voting NDP for 20 years,” said Booth. “I am a unionist and I believe that they’re [NDP] the best party that represents labour.”
Booth has stood by the NDP for a number of years and has taken a tremendous amount of his free time to volunteer for the party’s campaign. The work involved putting up signs and working on the NDP website in support of Kelly’s campaign.
Booth believes that Kelly supports a number of the same issues that are important to Booth and his family such as standing for strong social programs and improving the youth unemployment rate in Whitby.
As an NDP supporter, Booth stands by the NDP’s plan to balance budgets and invest in social programs. He also favours decreasing the rate of poverty in communities and an increase in affordable housing.
“They [NDP] want to bring positive things that are going to bring people up and increase our middle class,” said Booth. “I think that the NDP has a solid plan.”
Having grown up in a Conservative household, Booth believes that the Conservative party has moved away from progressive values and they are not the Conservative party that they used to be.
Booth took to Whiskey John’s Bar and Grill in Oshawa October 19 to support his candidate.
With 248 out of 250 polls reported throughout Whitby, Liberal candidate Celina Caesar Chavannes came first with 44.9 per cent of votes. Conservative Pat Perkins came second with 42 per cent and Kelly third with 10 per cent.
Although the Liberals won the federal election, both the NDP of Whitby and Oshawa had a joint celebration Monday night to celebrate the hard work and dedication that was put into the Whitby/Oshawa campaigns.
