NDP hopeful Olivia Chow urged NDP supporters to continue fighting for the party after being defeated in the hotly-contested Spadina-Fort York riding by Liberal incumbent Adam Vaughan.
“All of you out there who have devoted so much time to fighting for our dreams, I say continue to dream no little dream,” she said. “And regardless of this setback and all the setbacks you will face in the future, never, ever let them tell that it can’t be done.”
Chow, a former MP and wife of late NDP Leader Jack Layton, was attempting to return to federal politics after a failed run at the Toronto election in 2014.
“I’ve been blessed with a long and rewarding career in public service and I’ve learned a few lessons the hard way” Chow said. “I have also learned from life and from Jack (Layton), after each of our partial victories and after each of our temporary setbacks, we start over...We continue to build our dreams. We continue to move forward.”
Spadina-Fort York was expected to be one of the closest races in the GTA, but Vaughan – with about a third of the vote counted on Monday night -- won 55.6 per cent of the vote while Chow took about 25 per cent.
Chow also offered Vaughan her congratulations.
“I would like to let Adam know that I will support him in progressive change and so should we all,” she said.
Vaughan, who is expected to get a cabinet position in a majority Liberal government, thank is supporters.
“This a huge win,” he said, “and it’s a huge win because it’s built on hope and hard work. It’s the best kind of change you could possibly hope for.”
In his victory speech, Vaughan said he would focus on issues such as housing, transit and daycare funding.
