Ontario Votes 2018: Hastings–Lennox and Addington

New riding includes a number of rural townships, Napanee, Tweed and part of Belleville

Image | Hastings-Lennox and Addington candidates NDP, PC, Liberal Ontario election 2018

Caption: There is no incumbent for the new riding of Hastings–Lennox and Addington, with Nate Smelle (left) running for the NDP, Daryl Kramp (centre) running for the PCs and Tim Rigby (right) running for the Liberals. (Submitted)

Hastings–Lennox and Addington is a new riding with no incumbent, but if it had existed in 2017, the Progressive Conservative victory would have been far from a blowout.
Extending north from Lake Ontario, the riding includes a number of rural townships, Napanee, Tweed, Bancroft and part of Belleville. According to Statistics Canada, its population is older than the provincial average, with lower-than-average incomes.
The riding consists of 90 per cent of the former Prince Edward–Hastings riding and 30 per cent of the former Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington riding, but both the PCs who previously won them are now on the ballot elsewhere.

Who's running?

If the riding had existed in 2017 the PCs still would have won, though with less than 40 per cent of the total vote.
The PC candidate is Daryl Kramp, an established politician in the region who served as MP for the federal Prince Edward–Hastings riding from 2004 until he was unseated by Mike Bossio in the last election.
The Liberals are hoping candidate Tim Rigby, a former teacher, can take advantage of the open seat. The NDP candidate is Nate Smelle, an artist and journalist from the region.
A host of other parties also have a candidate in this race: Sari Watson for the Green Party, Lonnie Herrington for the Trillium Party, and Greg Scholfield for the Ontario Libertarian Party.

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