Alleslev “humbled” by renewed mandate from Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill

October 25, 2019 · 0 Comments

People sometimes say that the local candidate doesn’t matter, and what counts is the person leading the party, according to Leona Alleslev – but Monday’s election results should put that idea to rest.

In a hard-fought contest on Monday night, voters in Aurora’s south riding returned Ms. Alleslev to Ottawa, little over a year after she crossed the floor of the House of Commons from the governing Liberals to the Conservative opposition.

Speaking to The Auroran after sealing victory over Liberal challenger Leah Taylor Roy, Ms. Alleslev said she was “humbled” by the results and buoyed that electors chose to reinvest their faith in her – no matter the party stripe.

“My key takeaway is that you have to have the courage to stand up and do what is right, not what is easy, and be willing to lose your job for the right reasons rather than keep it for the wrong ones,” she said. “Canadians value that and they know then that you will serve honourably and they will place their trust and confidence in you to do so. I have always heard people say the candidate doesn’t matter, only the party matters. I would like to think that I am the physical representation that the candidate maybe does matter.”

Ms. Alleslev said she and her team knew it was going to be a tight race and as she watched the numbers roll in, she was hoping she had “earned the trust and confidence” of the community.

But it was something of a bittersweet victory, she told supporters in her victory speech that although she had secured her re-election, the Conservative Party fell short of receiving the most seats across the country.

“We know what this country needs,” said Ms. Alleslev, before being interrupted by a supporter who said what this country needed was more of Ms. Alleslev. “We would have liked to have had a great many more Conservative MPs win this time around, some of our key people have not been successful in this election, and that is obviously a very tragic situation and we’re very disappointed.”
Despite this disappointment, she switched gears to the positive – her victory and her team that helped make that happen.

“Dear friends, dear colleagues, dear supporters, this room is what it takes, not only to run a campaign, but to shape the future direction of the nation,” she said. “Democracy is fragile, this election was about character, integrity, humility and judgement. I believe that I was given the opportunity to continue to serve you as your Member of Parliament hopefully because you feel I embody those characteristics.”

She went on to tell The Auroran: “I am going to continue doing the work I think is important to the citizens of Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill and the country because we have to keep the country together. I am worried about national unity in the west – One Country, One Canada. We are stronger together and there are far greater challenges outside of our country on the horizon, I fear, that will demand even more that we’re strong at home.”

By Brock Weir