MPP Dave Smith Gets Three-Peat and Is Elected For Third Consecutive Term For Conservative Party
/Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith has reached the political three-peat as was elected for a third term representing the PC Party after the provincial election held on Thursday.
Smith wins a third-consecutive term for the PC Party. John Melville Turner (1977-1987) was the last Conservative member to win three-straight terms. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Smith won the riding with 40.5 per cent of the votes (22,383). This was an increase from 38.5 per cent (20,188 votes) in his last election in 2022. He beat Liberal Party candidate Adam Hopkins, who had 36.4 per cent of the votes (20,135) as the runner-up.
“It is truly an honour to be able to do this. I've said it multiple times, I owe a debt to the people of Ontario that I can only repay by doing something like this, by giving back to our community,” exclaimed Smith. “I really appreciate the people of this area have decided they'll put their trust in me for four more years. To be able to move the needle so that we have a better place for all of us to live in.”
Smith held his election party at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club and had roughly 80 people in attendance. He was declared the winner roughly 80 minutes after the polls had closed, securing his third term. Premier Doug Ford was re-elected to a third term six minutes after polls closed and immediately had a majority government declared.
“When people take a look at the hard work that we've put into it, what we've tried to accomplish, the steps that we have taken so far, the groundwork has been laid,” explained Smith. “We have help coming and we have things starting to make a difference now.”
As Smith remains MPP, he says it’s obvious that healthcare needs to be worked on but employment opportunities are an even greater priority.
“We saw 3,900 jobs that could have come to this area because we did not have the appropriate land for it. We also had an agricultural company that came to look at it, they needed 65 acres of land. The largest that we had was 44. That company chose to go another location as a result of it,” explained Smith. “We need to have to find a way to have more employment land available so that when we have those opportunities to bring a company here, they actually decide this is the location for them.”
Despite Peterborough having a college and university, many graduates are not staying in town for work; something that needs to change according to Smith.
“We need to reverse that trend,” he said. “That's one of the main things we'll be working on the next four years.”
When asked about the people that did not vote for him, Smith says he’s happy they exercised their right to vote and he is willing to listen to their concerns.
“My door is always open, please feel free to reach out to us, talk to me about what your issues are,” he said. “If it's something that we can help with that's going to make a positive difference, we are going to take every opportunity then to look at that and make this place a better place for everyone.”
The following were the results of the Peterborough-Kawartha Riding:
Dave Smith (Conservative) - 22,383 votes (40.5 per cent)
Adam Hopkins (Liberal) - 20,135 votes (36.4 per cent)
Jen Deck (New Democratic) - 9,480 votes (17.1 per cent)
Lucas Graham (Green Party) - 1,738 votes (3.1 per cent)
Andrew Roudny (New Blue) - 864 votes (1.6 per cent)
Brian Martindale (Ontario Party) - 684 votes (1.2 per cent)
Smith (left) beign congratulated by Hopkins (right) moments after the former was declared the winner of the provincial election.
