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Hamilton Spectator

Conservative support growing in Sudbury, Symington says

Despite considerable gains for the Conservative Party across Canada in Monday's federal election, the momentum was not enough to flip the traditionally Liberal-leaning Sudbury riding. Locally, the Conservatives made a leap, capturing 40 per cent of the vote, nearly doubling their support in a few short years. This time, the party finished second, pushing the NDP into a distant third with less than 10 per cent of the vote, signalling a shift in local politics even though the Liberals held onto the seat with about 50 per cent of the vote. While disappointed by the loss, Conservative candidate Ian Symington expressed pride in the campaign's achievements. 'We had a great team and we had a lot of fun this time,' he said late Monday night with supporters at Lot 88 Steakhouse. 'Our crew this time round was so much more motivated. Yes, I'm disappointed but it's a tough city. It's not built for people like me, maybe, on the political side of things.' Symington, a family doctor, said he will not put his name forward in the next election. He extended his congratulations to re-elected Liberal MP Viviane Lapointe and wished her well as she continues to serve the riding. However, he also offered words of caution to Lapointe and the returning government to exercise fiscal responsibility and avoid overspending. 'I got into this because I'm concerned,' he said about his reason for running in this election. 'I am hoping that we see the Conservatives and the Bloc put the balance in power because I don't want a Liberal-NDP-Green coalition because that will be extremely expensive … it worries me.' Symington also said he was concerned that while Sudbury remains a Liberal stronghold, it is now surrounded by ridings, like Manitoulin-Nickel Belt and Kapuskasing-Timmins, that have elected Conservative candidates, creating a political divide in the region. Campaign manager Todd Robson said he wouldn't have changed anything about the campaign's strategy. He said the party has made significant strides locally in both federal and provincial elections and that there is only room for further growth. Over the last 10 years, and the last four federal elections held in the Sudbury riding, the Conservatives have placed third, trailing behind the Liberals, who have maintained power, and the NDP, who, until now, held steady at second. In 2015, the Conservatives earned about 21 per cent of the vote. In 2019, their support dipped slightly to 20.6 and then in 2021, as Symington became the party's candidate, they increased to 27.7 per cent of the vote, still half of what the Liberals pulled in at the time. Although Conservative support grew between 2019 and 2021, their overall position in Sudbury remained steady, consistently finishing third. That changed Monday as NDP support fell dramatically and Conservatives shared the majority of votes with the Liberals, mirroring the national outcome. Symington had garnered 18,915 votes with 228 of 247 polls reporting, while Lapointe had 23,508 - or almost half the ballots cast. The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government. Bluesky: @ X: @SudburyStar