Conservative incumbent MP Scot Davidson has won the York-Simcoe riding once again.
As of 12:42 a.m., Davidson has 11,589 votes (49.6 per cent), Liberal candidate Daniella Johnson has 6,939 votes (29.7 per cent), NDP candidate Benjamin Jenkins has 3,462 votes (13.5 per cent) and PPC candidate Michael Lotter has 1,876 votes (7.3 per cent).
In February 2019, Davidson was elected in the by-election after the seat became vacant when long-time Conservative MP Peter Van Loan retired, and just a short seven months later was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.
In 2019, he won the election with 24,796 votes, beating out Liberal candidate's Cynthia Wesley-Esquimax (14,252 votes) NDP's Jessa McLean (7,481 votes), Green Party's Jonathan Arnold (4,615 votes), Libertarian Party's Keith Komar (1,292 votes) and PPC's Michael Lotter (867 votes).
"I'm really excited to get back to work," said Davidson early Tuesday morning. "We've got things to do."
"Six hundred and ten million dollars later, basically it looks like the exact same result," he said about the overall federal election results.
He was happy to see an increase in votes for his party in the riding.
"I think I've worked hard, and hard work should be rewarded," he said.
His top priorities when getting back to Ottawa are speaking on behalf of the fresh produce farmers of York-Simcoe and tackling the affordable housing issues in the region.
"I'll obviously continue to my outreach in the community, that's entirely important," he said.
Earlier Monday evening, all of the Simcoe NDP candidates met virtually on election night waiting for the results to roll in. York-Simcoe NDP candidate Benjamin Jenkins was in the meeting as part of his first time running in the riding's federal election.
"It's been a wild ride," he said about his campaign.
He was happy to see his first 58 votes come in at around 10:30 p.m.
"It's nice to even know there is one person out there who cares...it's a small number, but it's also a big number, it's just a nice feeling," he said. "It can sometimes be lonely when you look at the world as the way it is and there are so many people who say that's how it is and it's not going to change...the strength is in the power of the connection, in seeing how many people actually do believe in that feeling of not being alone, there is a way to make a difference...there's a power in the union."
Johnson said she was proud of her tram and the campaign overall.
"I would like to thank all of the volunteers who donated countless hours to this cause, and all the voters of York-Simcoe, who at times waited over an hour to vote. While tonight’s local results are not what we had hoped, I want to congratulate my Liberal colleagues across the province and the country who have been elected. It’s thanks to their work - and the work of all Liberal candidates - that Canadians have re-elected Justin Trudeau and a Liberal government.," she said.
Despite not winning, Lotter was pleased with his campaign.
"I am realistic in the approach to the election. York-Simcoe is a conservative riding. Knowing that I knew I had to get going on meeting people and speaking to them about what they want to see in the riding," he said. "The campaign went better than 2019. I felt we had a more positive reaction at the doors and with volunteers. I don't know what the current vote count is, but I am grateful to have been able to run a second campaign. I appreciate all the volunteers hours they gave to help. A campaign can't run without them. And also appreciate the other candidates for having stepped up to put their names in the ring."
The 2021 election saw 20,947 voters turn up at the advanced polls in York-Simcoe, compared to only 13,784 voters in 2019.
Even with a bump in advanced voter turnout, residents in Bradford noted the long lines at the polls today, attributed to hot button issues this year, such as vaccine passports and climate change, and also the decreased number of polling stations set up throughout the riding.
This year there were only 26 polling stations set up, compared to 36 in 2019. There were four polling stations used for the advanced polls for both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
York-Simcoe had 89,360 eligible voters this year.
