Conservatives win in Milton-East Halton Hills-South

By Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter

Parm Gill is now the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Milton East-Halton Hills-South. The former MPP won the riding by 298 votes over Liberal Party candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen. It was the first federal election for the new riding, created following a mandated boundary review process that takes place every ten years. It was formerly known as Milton riding, but divided due to population growth in both Milton, and South Halton Hills (Georgetown).

“It’s an absolute honour to be elected as your Member of Parliament. I look forward to being a strong voice for our community,” Gill posted to his Facebook page. Gill is a familiar face to residents, having served as the two-term Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Milton riding. He resigned his seat early last year in order to become the candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), triggering a by-election in June, 2024.

Gill took 32,186 votes to Liberal candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen’s 31,888. Tesser Derksen released a statement through her Facebook page ‘commending’ Gill on his win. “I’m sticking around and I will keep doing the good work and the hard work that makes this community a better place,” she said. It was a campaign marked by controversy.  Tesser Derksen filed a police complaint over vandalism of her signs in Georgetown, and Milton. There was also a complaint filed with Elections Canada over the use of an auditorium at the Milton Seniors’ Activity Center auditorium while advance voting took place over the Easter weekend, elsewhere in the same building.

Elections Canada ‘Pauses Count’ in 12 Ridings

Counting began after polls closed at 9:30 p.m. local time on April 28, continuing overnight. Elections Canada paused counting in twelve ridings across the country, with special ballots remaining. These are ballots cast by mail, or filled out at Elections Canada offices across the country throughout the campaign. Milton East- Halton Hills South was one of them, with the count continuing Tuesday morning. There was a single poll remaining of special ballots In Milton East- Halton Hills South, a single poll remained of 2800 votes to be counted. Gill was announced as the victor just before 3pm Tuesday.

Adam van Koeverden won his seat in Burlington-North-Milton West by 5,983 votes over Conservative candidate Nadeem Akbar.  This riding had a turnout of approximately 74%, while Milton East-Halton Hills-South has a turnout of 73.5%. The turnout numbers do not include voters registered on Election Day.

The Liberals were re-elected to a minority mandate with 165 seats- three short of a majority government at 172, with Mark Carney winning his seat in Nepean. The CPC are the official opposition with 144 seats. The NDP (New Democratic Party) is third with seven seats; five short of official party status. Voters re-elected Elizabeth May as the only Green Party MP. Both NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre have lost their seats in Parliament.