Gates heading back to Queen's Park

Wayne Gates says he woke up last Friday morning feeling pretty fortunate.

In Thursday’s election, Doug Ford was given a second term as Premier, with his Progressive Conservative party receiving a majority vote, but the NDP incumbent was once again chosen by the people of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie to represent them at Queen’s Park for another four years.

And although it’s early days yet, with Andrea Horwath, leader of the NDP, announcing her resignation following the election, Gates is already hearing from constituents who would like to see him head of the provincial party.

He says he’s not only fortunate to be again representing his Niagara Falls riding, a job he has been passionate about since first elected in 2014, he is also lucky to continue to have the love and support of his wife Rita, who helped him throughout his campaign, and his kids and grandkids.

Although he feels bad about missing many of his grandkids’ events since he first won a provincial by-election in February 2014, they have always understood, he says.

“On Thursday night, I had my family right beside me. I can’t do what I do without their support and understanding. My wife was beside me, and I love her dearly. My kids and grandkids understand and love me, and stand beside me knowing I’m trying to make a better world for other people’s kids and grandkids.”

They know he has to be a voice for others, especially those who are struggling, many of whom he met while going door to door leading up to the election.

“I enjoy campaigning. I like talking to people at the door. Some are happy, but I also talked to people who are struggling, so there was a lot of sadness. A lot of people in Niagara and across the province are living in poverty.”

Gates says he had been going over election results in his head all weekend, thinking about people who are struggling to put food on the table, and to pay their rent, and yet the voter turnout was dismal. About 43 per cent of the people in Ontario voted, and about 18 per cent voted for the Progressive Conservatives, he says. “We have to figure out why people feel so hopeless.” 

People don’t like to talk about poverty, but it needs to be discussed. “It breaks my heart to see seniors going to bed hungry, to see young children going to bed hungry, when profits are going up for the billionaires, including the Weston family, owners of Loblaws. At what point do we share the wealth? I will work with every ounce of my energy,” says the high-energy MPP, “for people not just in Niagara but across the province. We need to improve health care, to protect our environment and our history. But the big issue is affordability. It is in crisis, and it’s hitting all of us. We all have to work together to find a way for people to live in one of the richest provinces in this country.”

With health care still a priority, one of his first battles will be to ensure Ford scraps Bill 124, which he is saying he will consider. The bill has capped increases for some provincial employees, such as nurses, paramedics and teachers, to one per cent, when inflation was at 6.8 per cent across the province in April.

“The opposition to that is not just from the NDP, but from all sectors. There will be an enormous amount of pressure for that to change.”

Nurses especially, once called heroes of the pandemic, are now exhausted, feeling disrespected and leaving their profession in droves, Gates says. And it doesn’t help patients who end up in hospital to be treated by nurses who are exhausted and suffering from low morale, he adds. A pay increase would just be a partial answer to the shortage of nurses, but it’s a start.

He can’t wait to start working on that and all the other issues before him.

“I have to do my job. I’m incredibly honoured to be representing the people of this riding. I’m their voice, the face of their community. I have to make it better. And I’m very, very lucky to do it surrounded by the love of my family.”

As for considering the NDP leadership, that process isn’t likely to begin until December, or into the new year, and Gates says he is focused on the job before him.

The leadership race will follow a very similar process as the current federal Conservative leadership contest, and although he has seen the comments on social media and received emails from constituents asking him to put his name forward as a candidate, that’s a long way away. For now he plans to be busy advocating for what is important to his riding, and to the people of Ontario.  

If he continues to be encouraged to run for the leadership, he adds, “I’d have to sit down with Rita, my kids and grandkids, and see what they think.” 

Elections Ontario was still posting unofficial results Tuesday morning, showing Gates finished with 24,608 votes (48.08 per cent), ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Bob Gale with 18,662 votes (36.4 per cent), Liberal candidate Ashley Waters with 4,298 (8.4 per cent), New Blue candidate Christine Lewis-Napolitano with 1,427 votes (2.79 per cent), Green candidate Tommy Ward with 1,382 votes (2.7 per cent), Ontario Party candidate Wesley Kavanagh with 670 votes (1.31 per cent) and None of the Above Direct Democracy Party candidate Devon St. Denis-Richard with 136 votes (0.27 per cent), and a voter turnout of 44.11 per cent.

Across the province, the Progressive Conservatives won 83 seats, the NDP 31 seats; the Liberals eight seats; the Green Party one seat. An independent also won one seat, with the Ontario elections website showing a voter turnout of 43.03 per cent.