Election.
Incumbent Toronto Centre Liberal MPP Glen Murray, right, celebrates his re-election Thursday night with supporters at his election night event held at the Foxes Den.
Photo/JOSEPH HOWARTH
Liberal incumbent Glen Murray reclaimed his seat in the Legislature in the Oct. 6 provincial election, easily staving off a challenge by high-profile New Democrat candidate Cathy Crowe.
Murray has represented Toronto Centre since January, 2010, when he won a by-election to claim the seat formerly held by long-time MPP George Smitherman. The seat was left open when Smitherman left to embark on an ill-fated run for the mayoralty of Toronto.
Now a two-time winner in the downtown riding, Murray continues a political career that saw him serve as mayor of Winnipeg from 1998 to 2004. As a Liberal MPP, he has served as Minister of Research and Innovation.
Murray’s strongest challenge came from Crowe, a highly-regarded challenger whose advocacy as Toronto’s “street nurse” was expected to earn her considerable support. Instead, Murray handily defeated Crowe in the provincial election, as he had done in the 2010 by-election in which Murray originally won the right to represent the riding.
In the end, Murray’s experience - and Toronto Centre’s long-standing Liberal leanings – carried the day.
While early opinion polls showed the Conservatives winning the election, the tide of public opinion shifted mightily in the days leading up to Oct. 6.
The newly re-elected MPP said the Liberals were able to turn the tables through a strong and positive campaign that resonated with voters in his riding and across the province, in effect criticizing the Conservatives for their attack campaign tactics.
“Here in Toronto Centre, there’s a strong commitment to democracy,” he said. “(Voters) don’t like pettiness, they don’t like small-minded politics.”
He pointed to both his and the Liberals’ track record in Toronto Centre – the party has invested greatly in health care in the downtown core in recent years – as a large reason for his victory in the provincial election. He noted that he plans on continuing the work he had done since he was first elected over the upcoming term. In particular, he pointed to the work he has done with other local politicians to develop frameworks for communities within Toronto Centre.
“I’m going to continue the community planning process and working closely with the councillors and our federal representative Bob Rae,” he said.
He said he planned to continue working toward increasing available recreational space and improving home care and the quality of education as part of the provincial Liberals.
With the Liberals in danger of dropping from a majority to a minority government, Murray said his priorities would always lie with his party and constituents first.
“I’ll follow my leader and follow the people who elected me,” he said.