Calling it a great night for himself, his family and the people of Elgin-Middlesex-London, PC MPP-elect Rob Flack (shown below being hugged by MP Karen Vecchio) basked in the adoration of his supporters Thursday night at the CASO station in St. Thomas.
His win in the provincial election – the fifth straight PC win in the riding – was part and parcel of Doug Ford’s third consecutive majority government, something not witnessed since the 1950s.
“We worked really hard,” acknowledged Flack. “Again, we knocked on over 14,000 doors.
“If you really want to learn what somebody thinks or people think, knock on their door and ask them. So we’ve learned that in a big way.”

As to the success of the PC party in this riding, Flack noted, “We create the environment for people to succeed. And we continue to give that message. And yeah, you never take anything for granted. You work hard. We run, always run, like we’re five or ten points behind and we gave it our all and we got it done.”
Regarding criticism of the early election call Flack responded, “Well, I can tell you with all sincerity, we have an existential threat with Donald Trump. He is attacking our province and our country.
“We have a strong mandate, stable, majority government to make sure that in the next four years, we mirror-image his administration and we will continue to represent and fight and protect Ontario. It really is about protecting our province and we’ll get that done.”
As Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness going into the election, he was asked about the impact of tariffs on agri-business.
“Well, there’s a real threat there. Think of the greenhouse growers in this province. Two hundred trucks a day go across to the U.S. every day. And, 85 per cent of everything they produce goes to the U.S.

“The key part is that we’re going to continue to support Volkswagen and Powercar to make sure that project goes ahead.”

“Now, we bring as much in, but it’s a real threat and it just does not make sense. If it made sense for the Americans, I get it, but it just doesn’t. So we’re going to fight and fight hard.”
What impact might those tariffs – scheduled to take effect next week – have on proceeding with construction of the PowerCo EV battery Gigafactory in St. Thomas?
“It’s going to be 3,000 jobs and 30,000 tertiary jobs throughout the province. The key part is that we’re going to continue to support Volkswagen and Powercar to make sure that project goes ahead.
“It’s going to get done. And most importantly, we’re going to support it and Canada is going to support it.”

“The local concerns would be making sure that we continue to keep our economy going. Jobs and good-paying jobs are what it’s all about.”

Flack added he has no concerns the massive plant to be located in the Yarmouth Yards industrial park will not proceed as planned.
Doubling back to all the doors he knocked on during this campaign, was the response on the doorstep different than during the 2022 campaign?
Flack suggested there were three main differences in those four years.

1. The threat from Trump was loud and clear at the door.
2. The need for health care, and primary care, was loud at the door. And we have a solution, we have a plan, we have a policy to improve primary care in Ontario.
3. The biggest fear or opportunity would be infrastructure. People see schools, hospitals, roads. The infrastructure we need to invest in this province across Ontario is hundreds of billions of dollars.

He added, “The local concerns would be making sure that we continue to keep our economy going. Jobs and good-paying jobs are what it’s all about.”
Heading into the provincial vote, Flack was Minister of Agriculture, so is that a cabinet post he would like to assume again?
“That’s always up to the prerogative of the Premier. I’m happy to serve wherever, but again, I will always serve Elgin-Middlesex-London first and foremost.”
As to when the swearing-in ceremony would take place, Flack advised that had yet to be determined.

THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME FOR DOUG MACTAVISH

As an underdog in his first political campaign, Liberal candidate Doug Mactavish understood unseating the Elgin-Middlesex-London incumbent would be a daunting task.
Nevertheless, Mactavish was philosophical when we spoke with him before the polls closed Thursday evening.

“It’s been a real experience. It’s something I really would like to reach out to young people.
“I first got interested in politics when I was 16 years old. It’s a dream that I’ve had since that time. I got busy with family. I had a career and then my own business and I finally got to do something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
He continued, “To me, the most important thing, though, is the issues that were put forth by the party and the issues that I’m passionate about are the same thing.
“And, win or lose, I got to express in very clear terms how I felt about where the problem is, what’s wrong with it and where I wanted to go.

“It’s been the experience of a lifetime. If I’m not successful, then I get to be a senior enjoying my retirement.”

“My main item on a personal level is Bill 7 (the More Beds, Better Care Act). It is something that, regardless of who the government is, they’ve got to get rid of that and we’ve got to get proper care for our seniors. “Ontario, the old slogan is about a place to stand, a place to grow. My comment is let’s make it a place to grow old.”
His takeaway from the campaign?
“It’s been the experience of a lifetime. If I’m not successful, then I get to be a senior enjoying my retirement.
“When I go out in public, people say ‘Hello.’ I get friendly greetings everywhere I go. People know who I am now.
“I’m a person who says ‘good morning’ to everybody I see. It doesn’t matter whether it’s at the mall or if I’m walking through downtown and there’s somebody homeless. I say ‘hello’ to everybody.”
Surrounded by well-wishers, Mactavish wrapped up the conversation by observing, “I believe that I’m a Christian.
“You scratch your hand. It doesn’t matter what colour you are, what your personal beliefs are, what religion you are, or what your lifestyle is. We all bleed the same blood.
“The word blood is in Scripture hundreds of times. We’re all one common humanity and we have to really care. It’s not just about the dollar. It’s about caring about each other and taking care of each other.”

PROVINCIAL VOTE BY THE NUMBERS IN EML

Not only was Rob Flack re-elected Thursday in the 2025 provincial election, but the PC MPP-elect did so in a resounding fashion. Flack garnered 28,719 votes which is 55.8% of eligible voters.
The result is a significant improvement over the 2022 vote when Flack received 22,363 votes, however, it trails Jeff Yurek’s 29,264 votes in the 2018 provincial election.
Although Liberal candidate Doug Mactavish was a distant second with 12,578 votes, that result is much improved over Liberal candidate Heather Jackson’s 7,615 votes in 2022.
A surprise number was the 4,738 votes for NDP candidate Amanda Zavitz, who indicated she was stepping away from the election after comments she made about wanting to be a black woman to further gain life experience.
Her name was still on the ballot but the result is well below the 7,970 votes that Andy Kroeker received in the previous provincial vote.
None of which compares to the 16,923 votes that NDP candidate Amanda Stratton obtained in 2018.
In fourth place this time around was Green Party candidate Amanda Stark with 2,933 votes. That’s an improvement of almost one thousand votes from her result in 2022.
Brian Figueiredo of the New Blue Party picked up 1,418 votes, down from Matt Millar’s 2,237 total in 2022.
Cooper Labrie of the Ontario Party – a late addition to the ballot – obtained 610 votes.
Stephen R. Campbell representing the None of the Above Direct Democracy Party received 469 votes.
The voter turnout in Elgin-Middlesex-London was 49.45% up from 44.6% in 2022.
Hard to imagine the turnout in 2018 was 59% in this riding.
In total, there were 104,065 registered voters.

WINTER RELIEF FOR EMERGENCY SHELTER

City council meets for the first time in several weeks on Monday (March 3) and one of the first items on the agenda is an agreement between the city and the province for additional funds to operate The INN.
The city’s emergency shelter will benefit from almost $70,000 to help pay for additional costs incurred this winter.
In her report to council, Danielle Neilson, Housing Stability Services Manager notes, “On average, over the last three months, The INN has accommodated 47 shelter guests per night, and is an essential service in meeting the needs of our most vulnerable community members.
“Further, The INN supports our goal to reduce and functionally end homelessness in St. Thomas-Elgin within the next few years.”
The normal capacity at The INN is 40 emergency shelter beds with up to 15 overflow spaces.
The funds will allow for minor renovations so The INN will be able to operate additional low-barrier temporary shelter spaces as needed in the winter months through the use of cots.
There will also be increased space to store the belongings of individuals; increased staff capacity; and funds available to restore unsheltered homelessness sites as people transition indoors.
The INN transitioned from an overnight emergency shelter during the winter to a year-round low-barrier emergency shelter in January 2021.

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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.