Schmale romps to fourth easy election win
For the fourth time since 2015, Conservative Jamie Schmale will be returning to Ottawa to serve as the member of Parliament for the newly constituted Haliburton – Kawartha Lakes riding. Schmale crushed Liberal neophyte Nell Thomas, who ran a very positive and effective campaign until the final weekend before Voting Day when her effort was derailed by a National Post article detailing controversial social media posts attributed to the candidate.
With all the ballots counted, Schmale received 58 per cent of the popular vote, followed by Thomas with 38 per cent of the votes cast. New Democrat Aleya Teel and Peoples Party candidate Michael Penman, who were on the ballot in name only and did not actively campaign, split the remaining five per cent of the vote with 3.5 per cent voting for Teel and 1.3 per cent casting their ballot for Penman.
In a post to his official Facebook site, Schmale said he is “incredibly honoured and humbled to have been elected for a fourth term as your Member of Parliament.”
“This victory belongs to all of us,” Schmale said, adding his thanks “to the supporters who believed in our message, the volunteers who gave their time and energy, and to every member of our community who put their trust in me. Throughout this campaign, I’ve been inspired by the conversations I’ve had on doorsteps, in community halls, and at local events. Your concerns, hopes, and values guided this campaign every step of the way, and they will continue to guide my work in Ottawa.”
Schmale said he is “committed to being a strong voice for our community, standing up for common sense, fiscal responsibility, and the values that make our country strong.”
Mr. Schmale did not crush
Dr. Thomas. He won the Riding
by only 20% of the total vote.
Sadly, rural Ontario ignores world events, local issues and of course ignores the educational
Qualifications of all Candidates.
If you have a Candidate with life experiences and an education, like medical school, that person will have increased critical thinking skills and is better able to make informed decisions on behalf of their Constituents.
Of course, that means not being part of bullying techniques?
While I agree that Nell Thomas was a well qualified candidate, I disagree that a medical degree makes one especially qualified to represent constituents in Ottawa. In pre-WWII Germany and during the war, 80% of medical doctors were Nazi Party members who helped Hitler to write legislation to support the “Final Solution” plans for genocide.
Thank you for your comment.
Why discuss pre WW 2 events, that happened well over 80 years ago and the “doctors,”
were told what to do, by a madman, no questions asked!
We are now in the 21st
Century, times have changed!
However, many in this Riding still live in the past!!
43, 000 people used their critical thinking skills in this riding. 43% of the popular vote did the same. Libs won bc majority of seats are in City Centres where they are sent after migrating here. Those are facts. Yes we do ignore world events because we need to clean our own house first.
Most interesting that an American owned News Media organization would be so interested in a rural Ontario ” stronghold”.
Another example of how social media posts can never replace serious dialog and meaningful exchange of ideas and facts.
The National Post frequently covers stories in our region; it is not at all unusual. For example, Dr. Christopher Dummitt, a Canadian History Professor at Trent University, frequently publishes in the NP.
Congratulations to MP Jamie Schmale for winning another term in Ottawa. He is incredibly popular in our community and usually even the opposition likes him. Dr. Thomas ran a strong campaign but, as Kirk Winter writing for the Advocate notes, social media posts she made in the past came back to haunt her. When I first saw her comments on Facebook, I contacted Dr. Thomas to ask if they were hers or if they were the product of an Artificial Intelligence fraud because, standing alone without further context, they were damning. But to her credit, Nell Thomas openly admitted she’d made those comments before the election. Regarding the content of her social media posts, Dr. Thomas is right, of course, that the more children we have, the greater our carbon footprint. And she is not alone in recognizing the burden on our economy posed by an aging population. During this election campaign, the impact of long life on inheritance emerged as a central issue for young voters. I found quite alarming the degree of resentment I observed on social among young people for our elderly, too often wishing them dead. I wish Jamie Schmale the very best in his work in Ottawa and thank Nell Thomas for caring enough about democracy to put her neck out in a riding that polls as “safe” for the Conservative Party of Canada.
DrThomas admitted to some “social media” posts, however
someone had to do a lot of digging in order to find negative
information regarding Dr. Thomas. Doing such a thing is very mean and intentional!
I think it’s far more mean to say we “must stop keeping ancients alive so long.” That’s a direct quote from her in 2024 – not ancient news at all and it didn’t take much digging. I’d hate to be a senior and have her for a doctor – yikes.