Time for a tip of the hat
The Matt Richter “Going Green” tour made its final stop in Huntsville last month for a tip of the hat to one of the most important constituencies of all: the dozens of volunteers who turned out to make history in the last election and bring real change to Parry Sound – Muskoka.
Some 60 volunteers for the Matt Richter campaign gathered to celebrate their hard work in this last election and to strategize on how to carry that momentum forward. Thanks in no small part to them, Matt made a historic run for MPP in our riding and came closer than anyone has in a generation to replacing the status quo with new leadership and new ideas on everything from affordable housing and accessible health care to real solutions for climate action.
At the volunteer appreciation event, campaign manager Maureen Balsillie joined Matt to personally thank all those who made phone calls, knocked on doors, managed signs, entered data, staffed offices, and waved signs on street corners through rain or shine.
Real change you can believe in…
And what a team it was: over 350 campaign volunteers knocked on 27,000 doors, made 29,000 calls, and placed over 1,600 signs on private property across the riding. On Election Day, Matt won the vote in Parry Sound, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, and six other individual polls outside those municipalities. The overall results of the Advance Polls closely mirrored the results of Election Day voting.
When it was all said and done, Matt Richter and the Ontario Greens secured 40% of the vote—a result no other party running against the PCs has garnered for Parry Sound – Muskoka in over 3 decades. It was a historic run that drew national attention and confirmed what many had been saying for months: Parry Sound – Muskoka is ready for change.
…and here’s how we carry it forward: The Municipal elections
The last election may now be behind us, but the issues that people care about most—affordable housing, cost of living, climate action on climate, and health care—haven’t gone away. Now is the time to step forward and be heard to enact real change to take Parry Sound – Muskoka forward.
Your next chance to be heard will be in just a month’s time when municipal elections will decide whether more Green leaders like Matt take up positions of decision-making on these and many other local issues that impact us all. Across the riding election day is October 24, 2022 but the list of candidates and how you can cast your vote will vary from one municipality to another. To find out more check out the election information on your municipality’s website or contact their office. The local Torstar media throughout the riding* and other local media have published information about the candidates for the municipalities they serve online and on paper.
Find out where your local candidates stand on the issues that matter most to you or how you can attend local all-candidates events or reach out to them individually. Climate Action Muskoka asked all the candidates in Muskoka to answer three questions to find out where they stand on climate issues. Their responses are posted here on the Climate Action Muskoka website. If you won’t be voting in Muskoka you may want to ask your local candidate the same or similar questions and remind them that Matt Richter, the Green Party of Ontario candidate, was a close second in the recent provincial election and came in first at many polls.
Election Day is October 24! Turn out is usually low in municipal elections. Greens talking to candidates and voting for what we believe in can make a difference. * Torstar media in Parry Sound-Muskoka include the Parry Sound North Star, the Almaguin News, the Gravenhurst Banner, the Bracebridge Examiner, the Huntsville Forester, Muskoka Region and North Bay/Nippising News.