Receiving more than half of all of the votes cast, Progressive Conservative candidate Steve Pinsonneault has been elected to represent residents in the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex following a month-long by-election.
Pinsonneault, who has represented Ward 3/East Kent on Chatham-Kent Council since 2006, will enter his first term in provincial politics as a member of the governing party.
Winning with 15,649 votes, or 56.85 per cent of all votes cast, Pinsonneault said he was overwhelmed with the results.
“I never dreamed the margin would be that big on the win. It just shows that the riding believes in me and I won’t let them down. I will represent this riding well at Queen’s Park,” he said.
Pinsonneault beat out Liberal candidate Cathy Burghardt-Jesson, who earned the second-most votes (6,208), as well as NDP candidate Kathryn Shailer, who came third in the riding (2,973).
The PC representative also triumphed over five other candidates in the by-election; Andraena Tilgner with the Green Party of Ontario, New Blue candidate Keith Benn, Stephen R Campbell from the None of the Above Party, the Ontario Party’s Cynthia Workman, and Hilda Walton with the Family Rights Party.
The MPP position in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex has been vacant since former MPP Monte McNaughton stepped down in October 2023 to take a job in the private sector.
Pinsonneault said his experience as a municipal councillor will give him an edge in provincial politics when bridging the urban/rural divide.
“I have been dealing with the rural [and] urban in Chatham-Kent for the past 17 years. I understand the issues. I understand the concerns [and] the wants. Not every community is the same but most of them are very similar,” he said.
Elections Ontario reported a low voter turnout with only 30 per cent of the 90,993 registered voters casting a ballot in the by-election.
“For a by-election, that’s actually pretty good so I would say the people did come out and they wanted their voice to be heard,” said Pinsonneault.
Pinsonneault will now be required to step down from his position on CK Council in the coming days. How or if CK Council intends to fill the vacated seat has yet to be determined.