It’s been one week since Green Party leader Mike Schreiner became the party’s first MPP in Ontario history.
On election night Schreiner said he believed that win was just the beginning, and that the party will be celebrating wins in two other ridings after the next provincial election. One of the ridings he named was Parry Sound-Muskoka.
Matt Richter, the Green candidate for Parry Sound-Muskoka this year, says he absolutely agrees with Schreiner. He believes the Green Party’s message resonates with voters in this riding:
Going into election night one poll had Richter in second place. Richter, however, ended up coming in third on election night, right behind NDP candidate Erin Horvath, with less than 1,000 votes separating the two candidates. PC incumbent Norm Miller won the seat with 22,664 votes, 2,832 more than Horvath and Richter combined.
He says he doesn’t believe that disappointment changes the party’s outlook for the 2022 election:
Richter says despite the third place finish, it’s the Green Party’s message that he thinks will get them over the hump next time:
When it comes to who will be the Green Party candidate in Parry Sound-Muskoka in the 2022 provincial election, Richter says he hasn’t decided if he’ll take another shot at it:
Overall, the Ontario Green Party garnered 4.64 per cent of votes cast in the 2018 provincial election, its third best total ever.