Progressive Conservative candidate Trevor Jones has been elected to represent residents in the riding of Chatham-Kent-Leamington.
Jones, a former police officer and current municipal councillor in Leamington, enters his first term as a member of the governing party, with the PC Party winning a majority once again in Thursday’s provincial election.
“I want to thank the voters of Chatham-Kent-Leamington for coming together… I am ready and energized and committed to the residents in our communities,” Jones said after the results were in. “We have to get Chatham-Kent-Leamington back on the map. We need to bring the prestige and influence of Chatham-Kent-Leamington… Chatham-Kent-Leamington is the economic recovery for the province,”
Jones said he feels his life experience set him apart from the other candidates in the riding.
“As a [former] OPP officer in Chatham-Kent and now as an advocate for greenhouse farmers and our orchards, I bring two different worlds of experience with food security… and my background in public safety and understanding human behaviour. I think I’m full poised to take on the complexities of the fairly demanding job.”
Jones beat out NDP candidate Brock McGregor, who earned the second-most votes, as well as incumbent Rick Nicholls, who came third in the riding.
Nicholls was previously elected as MPP for the riding as a member of the PC Party, however, he was removed from caucus last summer after refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or provide a medical exemption. Nicholls joined the Ontario Party in December 2021, becoming its first sitting member in the Legislature.
“Naturally I’m disappointed, I truly am. I’ve given my heart and soul to this riding for over 10 years and unfortunately, it didn’t shake out this time,” Nicholls said. “With a new party, it’s challenging. It’s difficult simply because people don’t know the new party, they want to go with what they had before, the status quo.”
Nicholls served three consecutive terms as MPP for the riding after first being elected in 2011. In the last election in 2018, Nicholls won with a commanding 51.92 per cent of the vote.
“I’m pleased with what I was able to accomplish over the past 10 years. Would I have liked to have accomplished more? Absolutely. But that’s politics.”
Nicholls said while he intends to stay connected to the Ontario Party, he has no plans to run in any future elections. Instead, he plans to spend more time with his wife and family.
This election season saw some turmoil in the Chatham-Kent-Leamington riding ahead of Election Day. Audrey Festeryga, the candidate for the Liberal Party, withdrew from the election on May 26 amid accusations from the NDP that she had committed elections fraud. Any votes cast for Festeryga during advance polling were counted as rejected, as per the Election Act.
