The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCPO) has maintained its hold on the Milton seat in the provincial legislature. Their candidate Zee Hamid won a by-election held on May 2 by 2,481 votes over his closest competitor Liberal Candidate Galen-Naidoo Harris.
“I want to congratulate Zee,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said. Hamid was named a candidate in early March. He previously served on Milton Council for three terms as both a municipal, Regional Councillor. He’s served in numerous volunteer roles including as a director at Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
“Democracy was hard work, and it takes a lot of grit,” Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie said told supporters at Naidoo-Harris’ election night party. She positioned her party as resilient. “These were always going to be tough races, but we proved once again that we are the only alternatives to voters to stop Doug Ford,” she told supporters. Milton was one of two ridings voting in a by election May 2. The second; Lambton-Kent Middlesex also went to the Progressive Conservatives, and was previously held by Cabinet Minister Monte McNaughton.
Naidoo-Harris was grateful for the community support. “Nobody could ask someone to step up for them like the way these folks have stepped up,” he told supporters. It was a family effort with the Naidoo-Harris household with his dad putting up signs, an everyone else helping him with door-knocking. A life-long Milton resident, he’s been active in the community as a participant in community cleanups, and working with Milton Association of Citizens Together In Our Nassagewaya (ACTION) Group to stop the Campbellville Quarry.
Reid Rd Quarry as a Campaign Issue
The Reid Rd Quarry is a project proposed by James Dick Construction Limited (JDL)for 73 acres of land at the corner of Twiss Road and Reid Rd in Campbellville. If approved, it would use an underwater blasting technique affecting the upper 100 ft of the aquafer providing water to 20,000 residents of Campbellville and Milton.
The Town of Milton has opposed the project since it was first proposed in 2014. MPP Elect Zee Hamid was part of the council that unanimously voted against it. “My opposition hasn’t changed. I still have the same position,” he told a public meeting early in the campaign. In a well-documented press conference in July, 2020 Premier Doug Ford addressed the issue. “I believe in governing for the people. And when the people don’t want something, you don’t do it. Very simple,” he said.
In October, 2023 the Town was notified that JDL had filed for an Environmental Assessment (EA). “At the end of the environmental assessment, a decision will be made, Ford said in an email statement following the May 2 by-election. The issue united the Liberal, New Democratic Party, and Green Party along with local residents at a rally held April 27. “Today I stand before you, and say we oppose the quarry,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said. As Mississauga Mayor Crombie led her council to vote against the 413. The Ford Government announced they would begin building the controversial project in 2025.
The by-election was called following former MPP Parm Gill’s resignation. Nine candidates ran in total, including Hamid, and Naidoo-Harris, as well as two independent candidates running. Milton has 98,785 registered voters. Approximately 27% cast their ballot on election day, with 6% participating in advanced polls according to Elections Ontario.
