By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator,
NDP win byelection, blocking Liberal majority
New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath is all smiles today after her party won one of two byelections that blocked the Liberals from a majority government.
Catherine Fife won the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo, which had previously been held by the Progressive Conservatives for 22 years.
Tory Leader Tim Hudak is complaining the unions “bought” the riding for the NDP, but Horwath dismissed it this morning as sour grapes.
Hudak says he takes responsibility for the loss, but says his party was beat by campaign muscle on the ground.
Horwath acknowledges that Fife got the “Cadillac of campaigns” with the party pulling in all their resources to get her elected, including 700 volunteers.
But Horwath says the voters of Kitchener-Waterloo voted for a strong woman who will listen to their concerns.
She suggested today that the win hasn’t emboldened her to try and topple the minority Liberals, who’ll need the help of one of the other parties to pass legislation.
McGuinty engineered the byelection by appointing veteran Tory Elizabeth Witmer to a $188,000-a-year post as head of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, convincing her to give up the seat she’d held for 22 years.
Backed by support from teachers and public sector workers angry with the Liberals for imposing a two-year wage freeze, Fife came from behind to take the riding about 170 kilometres southwest of Toronto for the first time in the party’s history. (Source: Global News)