MPP-elect Neil Lumsden addresses supporters after being the first PC Party candidate to win the Hamilton riding since its inception. Photo credit: The Hamilton Independent/Kevin Geenen
It’s a riding that has never gone Conservative in its history. But, on Thursday, June 2, 2022, it finally went blue. Hamilton East-Stoney Creek (HESC) has been an NDP stronghold since the riding was created in 2007. Indeed, in the 2018 provincial election, the NDP’s Paul Miller won with over 50 per cent of the popular vote.
But, with Paul Miller booted from the NDP, PC Party candidate for HESC Neil Lumsden saw an opportunity to capture the seat and finished the job.
Lumsden, who is a CFL Hall of Famer, business owner, and former Athletic Director at Brock University, captured 34.60 per cent of the vote, up from the 28.81 per cent the PCs captured in 2018. Notably, even if all of Paul Miller’s votes instead went to the NDP, Lumsden would still have won.
As the results slowly came in and Lumsden was declared the winner, local media clamoured into the campaign office at Highway 8 and Green Road.
The scene at Lumsden’s campaign office was emotional as Lumsden walked through the door and immediately thanked his wife Donna for her resiliency during the campaign.
“We talk in terms of pulling together people to get things accomplished and everyone says ‘oh that’s just a sports thing’, that’s a bunch of crap. That’s the way you get things done. You get people together that are passionate, that care about one another, that care about what you’re doing, and good things happen. That doesn’t always mean you win, but it does mean you’ve created something special,” Lumsden said in his victory speech.
“We didn’t point fingers, we competed,” he added.
Lumsden said that the reception at the doors when campaigning was very positive and that many people simply appreciated that his campaign took the time to speak one-on-one with people. He said that many residents expressed that they had not had a politician come to their door in a number of years and appreciated that his team took the time to actually campaign.
While Hamilton East-Stoney Creek has never gone blue since its 2007 creation, the Stoney Creek portion of the riding last went blue in 1999 when Brad Clark won provincially. However, that riding included the conservative-leaning Glanbrook area. Clark ended up losing his re-election bid in 2003.
As for the Hamilton East portion of the riding, it last went blue in 1955 with the election of Robert Ellsworth Elliott, an MPP who was part of the Leslie Frost government.
Full Election Results: Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
NEIL LUMSDEN (PC PARTY) – 34.60%
ZAIGHAM BUTT (NDP) – 27.34%
JASON FARR (LIBERALS) – 21.07%
PAUL MILLER (INDEPENDENT) – 6.86%
CASSIE WYLIE (GREENS) – 4.95%
DOMENIC DILUCA (ONTARIO PARTY) – 2.99%
JEFFERY RAULINO (NEW BLUE PARTY) – 1.97%
CAMERON RAJEWSKI (ELECTORAL REFORM PARTY) – 0.22%
Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Kevin Geenen reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He is a regular contributor with The Hamilton Independent and has also been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, Niagara Independent, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. He is known for Hamilton crime updates and social media news graphics. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal from Governor General David Johnston. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. In March 2022, Kevin started working as an Office Administrator at RE/MAX. Kevin’s journalism work continues to be independent of his other jobs.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
