By Cecilia Nasmith
For supporters of Philip Lawrence, the waiting ended at 11:11 p.m. election night, when the candidate's campaign manager declared themselves the winner.
Several dozen supporters sprang from their seats to cheer and, shortly thereafter, to greet Lawrence with big blue confetti as he arrived.
Spirits were buoyed at Lawrence's downtown Cobourg headquarters the hour prior to that, as Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini kept up with the polls coming in for the riding on his phone. He reported a relatively steady edge for Lawrence who, in the end, would take 39.9% of the vote, compared to incumbent Liberal Kim Rudd's 36.2%.
Lawrence's first words were thanks to his supporters as well as to his family. No matter how badly Rudd beat him up in debates, he said, he could always count on a hug to make things better.
“I won't go too much into the national picture,” he stated.
“We didn't get the results we wanted. Of course, we wanted a majority government, but I think Andrew Scheer did an amazing job in incrementally growing our power.
“I look forward to working hard for the residents of Northumberland-Peterborough South. I am going to try and be the hardest-working Member of Parliament we have ever had. I will work hard in order to make life more affordable for Canadians. I will work hard to get some fiscal restraint back in Ottawa. And I will work hard to make life better in Northumberland.”
Just before introducing the minister at his church to say a prayer, Lawrence noted that his campaign owed its success to more than 100 volunteers who knocked almost 40,000 doors on his behalf.
Piccini was one of the volunteers who gave what time he could in support of the new MP. Speaking of this experience, he said he detected a lack of passion among Liberals, adding that they have their work ahead of them to rebuild.
