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As results from polls across Parry Sound-Muskoka rolled in on election night, the mood was jubilant at Deerhurst Resort where supporters of Conservative candidate Scott Aitchison had gathered.<\/p>\n
By the end of the evening, Aitchison had garnered more than 40 per cent of the riding’s vote.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited,” he told Huntsville Doppler<\/em>. “I’m humbled and overwhelmed. There’s so many people that helped make this happen…and it just doesn’t happen without all those people who commit to work with you and put their faith in you and believe in you and that’s a humbling experience as well. I’m really moved by the support and I’m honoured by the fact that the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka have put their faith in me and they’re going to give me a try and see how I do. I want to get to work and prove to them that I’m worthy of their trust.”<\/p>\n Aitchison said that housing, an issue he focused on while Huntsville Mayor, will remain his top priority in Ottawa.<\/p>\n “The Liberal government has said they want to spend billions of dollars on housing, I want to obviously be a part of any discussion,” he said. “The specific program that I talked a lot about during the campaign was the capital subsidy program. It was a remarkably effective program, which started in the Chr\u00e9tien government… It will get housing built fast, it’ll be done efficiently, it won’t cost them as much money, and it will also generate property tax revenue for the local municipalities to provide the services that people need. It’s a win-win-win. I’ve got a lot of experience on committees and hopefully I can steer things a little bit in what I think is common sense approaches to problems that we face not just in Parry Sound-Muskoka, but all over the country.”<\/p>\n Aitchison added that with the Liberals forming government, “it speaks to the importance of making sure that our Member of Parliament is a vocal person that’s making sure that we get our fair share of programs that are there to support people in need. I’ve seen it in a provincial level when dealing with municipalities and I’ve certainly seen it at the federal level where, you know, policymakers forget that we don’t all live in the GTA. And so I’m going to make sure that they know we’re here.”<\/p>\n And to those in the riding who voted for other candidates and might feel their voice won’t be heard, Aitchison said, “I’m going to prove you’re wrong…This is the way I’ve always operated in public life. You will always be heard. Some people may change my mind on things, but we won’t always agree. But I will work hard for every single person in this riding. That’s the job and that’s what I signed up to do. I’m not just going to be some kind of a parrot for the party here in Parry Sound-Muskoka. I’m going to Ottawa to fight for Parry Sound-Muskoka. I’m going to work for everybody and I’m going to prove that to everybody.”<\/p>\n Watch Aitchison’s closing remarks to his supporters below:<\/p>\n