PC Amy Fee wins in new riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler
CBC News | Posted: June 7, 2018 4:11 PM | Last Updated: June 8, 2018
Progressive Conservative candidate Amy Fee won in the new riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler Thursday night.
With all 52 polls reporting, Fee took 39 per cent of the vote. NDP candidate Fitzroy Vanderpool won 37 per cent.
There was less than 1,000 vote difference between the two candidates.
Liberal Surekha Shenoy won 15 per cent while Green candidate David Weber took 7.5 per cent.
Riding history
Kitchener South-Hespeler is a new riding created ahead of this provincial election and has pitted some high-profile candidates against each other.
PC candidate Amy Fee is a mother of four and sat on the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. She became known to many in the community for her fight against the board to allow her son, who has autism, to have his service dog in the classroom with him. The case went before the Ontario human rights tribunal and the Fee family lost.
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Fitz Vanderpool, a former professional boxer, is a star candidate for the NDP locally, but he became embroiled in controversy when he was called out for previous statements and behaviours.
In one release, the Liberals accused Vanderpool of being against equal marriage rights, citing a survey he signed when running for city council in 2006. Vanderpool denied the report and said he supports everyone's right to marriage.
For his part, Vanderpool said he supports marriage equality and said he regrets being unclear.
Surekha Shenoy, the Liberal candidate, has worked in banking but has volunteered in the community on a Youth On Board mentoring group, the East Indian Community Walkathon of Waterloo Region and at the soup kitchen at Trinity Community Table.
David Weber, the Green candidate, works as a police officer and ran in the 2014 provincial election where he received 7 per cent of the vote.
The Libertarian candidate is Nathan Andre LaJeunesse while Narine Sookram is running as an independent.
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