Green candidate Aislinn Clancy wins Kitchener Centre byelection

Green candidate Aislinn Clancy hadalargelead early in the night and never looked back as she won the provincial byelection in Kitchener Centre.

The unofficial results Thursday night showed Clancy had 11,334 votes, which was 5,022 more than second-place candidate Debbie Chapman of the NDP.

The win means the Green Party of Ontario will now have two MPPs at Queen's Park. Clancy will join Guelph MPP and Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

Clancy was joined by Schreiner and Kitchener Centre Green MP Mike Morrice on stage as she addressed supporters Thursday night as results came in. She thanked her "dream team" of volunteers.

"The work starts today. I thought I was tired but I'm a little like 'oh,'" she told the crowd. "We're going to get things done and serve people well."

In a press release, Schreinersaid the "Green wave is growing" across the province and he was proud of the campaign Clancy ran.

"Her compassion, her drive and her commitment to her community are unparalleled, and I know she'll be an incredible advocate for her community," he said.

Chapman says message 'resonated'

Chapman issued a release Thursday evening to thank volunteers and also the people she spoke with overthe course of the campaign.

"It was encouraging for me to see so many young people and students join the campaign. I know our message resonated with people," she said.

Chapman, a city councillor in Kitchener, congratulated Clancy on the win and also vowed to "keep on fighting in Kitchener Centre."

18 candidates on ballot

Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Elliott came in third with 3,109 votes while Liberal Kelly Steissended the night in fourth place with 1,817.

New Blue candidate Paul Simoes came in fifth with 536 votes.

There were arecord-breaking 18 candidateson the ballot the highest number ever in an Ontario election.

Of the 87,151 registered voters, Elections Ontario reported 27.1 per cent of people cast a ballot in the byelection.

The byelection was heldafter former MPP Laura Mae Lindo stepped downfrom the role in July.

Council seat

Clancy is a city councillor for the City of Kitchener. The win means she will need to step down from that role because under Ontario's Municipal Act, she can't hold both seats at the same time.

Thencity council will declare the seat vacant anddecide how to fill her seat.

At that point one of two things will happen:

• Council can appoint someone to the seat.
• A byelectioncanbe held.