MPP Yasir Naqvi took the stage on election night to chants of “four more years,” from his Liberal supporters and four more years it is, as Ottawa Centre firmly held to its red stripes.
Naqvi clinched nearly 47 per cent of the votes, almost 9,000 votes over his nearest competitor.
“It’s heartening to see the people of Ontario want a solid, stable government so that we can continue in these tough economic times while protecting our vital public services like health care and education,” Naqvi said about his party teetering on the brink of a third consecutive Liberal majority government as they secured 53 of the 107-seat legislature.
The president of the Ontario Liberal Party, Naqvi is a cabinet hopeful in an election that saw the defeat of four Liberal cabinet ministers, from Environment Minister John Wilkinson to Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky.
His next four years will echo his previous years in office, said Naqvi.
“My campaign team won’t be very happy to hear about this, but a month from now, I’ll be back at the doors,” he said, chuckling.
His door-knocking count has hit 40,000 – a fact the diminutive politician is proud of, a fact he said shapes him into a better MPP as he understands “the dream, aspirations and ideas of the community.”
Ottawa Centre has a 40-year history of swinging between the Liberals and the NDP, with Naqvi securing another four years to a 16-year Liberal run.
Following the “Orange Wave” in the federal election, a tight race was expected between incumbent Naqvi and NDP candidate Anil Naidoo in a riding MP Paul Dewar nabbed handily in May.
But Naidoo trailed his Liberal counterpart two-to-one early in the polls, finishing with just under 29 per cent of the total count.
“This has been an amazing run, an amazing experience,” said Naidoo.
“We can all rest… knowing we made a difference. We gave people a positive choice,” Naidoo told the crowd of supporters on election night.
“Even though I am not your MPP, I will keep fighting for our community.”
Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar said he is disappointed by the NDP’s loss, but hopeful for the party’s future in the community.
“It’s not because we didn’t have a good candidate," Dewar said. "We had a great candidate, we had a great campaign and we brought in a lot of new people and we should be proud of that."
“We’ll dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up and get at it again in a couple years.”
In a riding that has alternated between Liberal red and NDP orange since its creation in 1966, it was tough for PC candidate Rob Dekker to paint it Tory blue.
Rob Dekker was forced to play catch-up after being the last party to announce a candidate in the Ottawa riding.
"I can’t really say anything went wrong. If there was one thing that could have helped us further along, that would have been more time to be campaigning,” Dekker said.
The father of two and former Bell Canada union president secured about 18 per cent from the polls.
“My hope is that next time an election comes around that whoever is nominated (for the PCs) has the opportunity to work a little longer at it and to start building more support.”
The Greens’ Kevin O’Donnell placed a distant fourth, with barely 4 per cent of support.
“What it will really take to break through to that next step is recognition at the provincial scope where the Green Party is covered in the media as much as the other parties,” said the IT consultant.
“That’s just a matter of time and hard work at the local level to earn that spot.”
On a night where the status quo reigned supreme, politicians attributed the results to Ontarians’ desire for stability.
“It’s up to people to decide and they decided that they would stick with who they knew and that’s the way it works in this business,” said Dewar.
Both former MPP Richard Patten and former federal Liberal candidate for Ottawa Centre Scott Bradley said people turn to what they know during tough economic times.
“We have very troubling and volatile times internationally. People are looking for some degree of stable leadership,” Patten, adding that Naqvi will continue that stability into his second consecutive term.
Bradley seconded Patten’s sentiment.
“People want consistency. That’s why people voted Tory in May and that’s why people voted McGuinty in October,” Bradley said.
According to Bradley, there are politicians who work hard and are dedicated to their community. Then there is Yasir Naqvi.
“It’s not an over-the-top statement when I say no one works harder than Yasir.”
And Naqvi’s certainly not letting up.
He will be back to Queen’s Park to focus on what he said are three key issues in Ottawa Centre.
The MPP said he will spend time on a smarter transit system, more community participation in the area’s residential development, and improving services such as affording housing.
Three other candidates vied for the spot in Ottawa Centre: Stuart Ryan of the Community Party, the Libertarians’ Michal Zeithammel, and independent Kristina Chapman.