October 24, 2015
1526
To the Editor:
The people of Huron-Bruce should be congratulated for engaging in the democratic process in unprecedented numbers in the Oct. 19 federal election.
More than 72 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in this riding. That voter turn-out of 57,888 is the highest ever in Huron-Bruce.
As one of the candidates in that contest, I was impressed at every stage of the long campaign by the engagement of ordinary voters who were among the thousands of people I met on their doorsteps and at community events.
Perhaps equally important, as a first-time candidate, I was overwhelmed by the participation of volunteers in the electoral process. I recruited in excess of 300 people to work on my campaign: knocking on doors, delivering flyers, making phone calls and staffing campaign offices, among other things.
Despite working for 10 years as a political reporter, I don’t believe I fully understood the role volunteers play in an election campaign at the riding level.
While I wasn’t successful at the ballot box, I cherish every moment of my own 18-month campaign to be the Member of Parliament for Huron-Bruce.
Please allow me to extend my thanks to all those who voted and particularly to the thousands who supported me, to my hundreds of volunteers, to the dozens who worked full-time on my behalf and most of all, to my family.
Together, I think we demonstrated that the democratic process is alive and well in Canada.
Allan Thompson
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