Tyler Allsopp. Photo by QNet News
BELLEVILLE – Progressive Conservative candidate Tyler Allsopp is the new MPP for the Bay of Quinte following the resignation of Bay of Quinte MPP and Minister of Education, Todd Smith.
The Bay of Quinte by-election took place on Sept. 19.
Allsopp won with 38% of the vote. Liberal Sean Kelly finished second with 33% of the votes cast.
QNet News had the opportunity to Allsopp the morning after his victory.
“I feel great, this is a great opportunity,” he said. “To come out with a win feels amazing, we are very happy with last night.”
Allsopp said his goals align with supporting the people of the Bay of Quinte.
“Our key priorities are really having the people’s voices at the forefront,” he stated. “Homes, healthcare, affordability to live were all things we heard over the last few weeks.”
38% of voters eligible to vote in Bay of Quinte cast a ballot in the by-election.
When asked about the low voter turnout, Allsopp said he felt differently.
“We felt the opposite. Most by-elections see between 26-30% of voters, we saw 38%,” he mentioned. “That’s relatively high. We thought it would be lower.”
Allsopp said he is proud to represent the Bay of Quinte and honored to have had the opportunity to run against the other candidates.
“Shout out to them all,” he stated. “Amanda Robertson, Lori Borthwick, they all did great. I’ve ran before and lost, so I know how it feels.”
Allsopp wanted to give a personal mention to Liberal candidate Sean Kelly.
“I really appreciate Sean,” he said. “He put up a good fight, he was right behind us. He stopped by and congratulated me.”
Allsopp said he will certainly run again in future elections.
There were seven candidates in the running. Sean Kelly (Liberal), Tyler Allsopp (Progressive Conservative), Amanda Robertson (NDP), Lori Borthwick (Green Party), Margaret Schuler (New Blue), John Turmel (Independent) and Mark Snow (Libertarian).
Third place went to the NDP’s Amanda Robertson with 23% of the vote, Green Lori Borthwick with 3%, New Blue Margaret Schuler with 0.9%, Independent John Turmel with 0.4% and Libertarian Mark Snow with 0.3%.
QNet News also had the opportunity to speak to second-place finisher, Liberal Sean Kelly. Kelly and team said they were disappointed by the results, but are proud of the work they put in.
“I feel good,” Kelly stated. “Disappointed in the results, but I thank the voters, the Bay of Quinte, for their trust in me. It was an amazing four weeks. We were ready and gave it our full effort.”
Kelly mentioned a big reason he thinks Allsopp won was because of former MPP Todd Smith being of the same party.
“He’s from a conservative area,” Kelly said. “Todd Smith had it for 13 years.”
Another reason Kelly thought of was the votes for the other parties.
“If more of the NDP votes had come my way, it could be different.”
Kelly was unsure as to why the voter count was so low in the advance polls (8.1%).
“I don’t know, by-elections, the numbers are usually 10-12 points lower than the general election,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for people to say something about how they feel about the current government. Hopefully they will be more engaged for the general election.”
When asked if he would consider running again in future elections, Kelly was hesitant.
“Just trying to get through tonight and we’ll go from there,” he said. “We’ll see what’s ahead.”
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