NDP's Catherine Fife wins in Waterloo riding

NDPcandidate Catherine Fife has been re-elected in Waterloo riding.

With all68 polls reporting, Fife took about 51per cent of the ballot.

• Progressive Conservative Dan Weber took about 32 per cent.
• Liberal Dorothy McCabe won about 12 per cent.
• Green candidate ZdravkoGunjevicreceived almost five per cent of the votes.
• Libertarian candidate Andrew Allison took just over one per cent.

Voter turnout in the riding was about 65 per cent, the highest in Waterloo Region and surrounding area.

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Riding history

This riding changed slightly for this election and was renamed fromKitchener-Waterloo to Waterloo.

Fife has held the seat in this riding since a byelection in 2012.

Fife's win in 2012 came after long-time Progressive Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer stepped down from politics. Witmer had held the seat since 1990. Liberal Herb Epp held the seat before Witmer from 1977 to 1990, when he retired.

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Before 2012, there was only 10 years where the seat wasn't held by a Liberal or Progressive Conservative. That includes five years, between 1919 tp 1923, when it was held by an independent Liberal named Nicholas Asmussen and then in a stretch from 1943 to 1948 when the seat was held first by John Henry Cook of the Co-operative Commonwealth and then by Liberal-Labour MPP Joseph Ignatino Meinzinger.

Local candidates

Fife has held a number of critic roles for the NDP in her six years in office. Her portfolios have included: LGBTQ issues, early years and childcare, economic development, employment, research and innovation; finance; Treasury Board; research and innovation and infrastructure.

She also served as the vice-chair for the standing committee on estimates and the standing committee on regulations and private bills. She also sat on the standing committee on finance and economic affairs.

PC candidate Dan Weber won his party's nomination, beating Mike Harris Jr., son of former Ontario premier Mike Harris, in the nomination meeting. Harris Jr. went on to be named the candidate for Kitchener-Conestoga.

Born and raised in Waterloo, and a graduate of the University of Waterloo, Weber has strong ties to the community, including through volunteering with a number of organizations in the region.

Liberal Dorothy McCabe is known to many in the community for her work at KidsAbility and she was also formerly worked in government and advocated for two-way, all-day GO trains between Kitchener and Toronto.

In attending a debate at CBC K-W after the writ was issued, these three candidates spoke highly of Green candidate, Zdravko Gunjevic. A University of Guelph grad, Zdravko is an instructional designer and training design specialist.

Andrew Allison, a student at Laurier, was the Libertarian candidate.

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