ELGIN (April 28 - June 8, 1995) - Freedom Party's candidate in Elgin, Ray Monteith, was already known for his ability to stir controversy. In the last Ontario election, Monteith was Fp's star candidate, drawing over 1100 votes and becoming the first Fp candidate to break the 3% vote percentage.
Disappointingly, this election his vote total and percentage were halved, in keeping with the over-all trend for alternate party votes. But what breaks the trend in Elgin is the fact that the winning candidate, Peter North, is Ontario's only elected independent. However, North's victory may be less a sign of the public's willingness to vote for something besides the big three, than it is an illustration of the principle that people vote AGAINST.
As a past NDP MPP who rejected his affiliation with that party in the middle of his term, North became an ideal candidate through which Elgin voters could express their vote AGAINST the NDP, which they readily did. This placed Monteith in the same relative situation as the rest of Fp's candidates whose vote totals decreased, but Monteith was the only Fp candidate to lose votes to a NON-Conservative. (Fp candidates performed better only in those ridings where a conservative candidate was not seen as being electable, such as London Centre where incumbent NDP Marion Boyd easily retained her seat.)
Despite his reduced vote total, it is clear that Ray Monteith had a definite impact on voters and the media during his election campaign, as can be evidenced by the reproduced news coverage in this issue. There were far more all-candidates' debates in Elgin than in most ridings, and Monteith often found himself attending two or three functions in a single day.
From observed reactions and responses to Ray's outgoing style and personality, Fp supporters can rest assured that they are being well represented in Elgin.
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last updated on April 30, 2002
