Holland wins as Progressive Conservatives break through in Thunder Bay-Atikokan

Thunder Bay-Atikokan voters will have a voice within Ontario's second consecutive majority Progressive Conservative government.

Kevin Holland collected 36 per cent of the vote to beat one-term NDP incumbent Judith Monteith-Farrell in Thursday's provincial election. Holland's win ends a generation-long drought for the PCs in the riding.

"I'm just overwhelmed, I don't know what to say. The little guy from Conmee who has been kicked down, they're a mayor of a small town and never taken seriously — but that's what has driven me to say, 'Hold my beer and watch me,'" Holland told about 60 supporters gathered for his victory party at the Whitewater Golf Club.

"Actually, it was probably good for me because it drove me harder to prove what somebody from a small community can do for the betterment of the region."

A self-described shy person, Holland said he has spent 31 years in business and government preparing for a 10-month job interview to become an MPP. He said within the next term, his top priorities will be diversifying the local economies along with addressing mental health and addictions.

1st PC win in Thunder Bay area since 1980s

"Within four years, we're getting a handle on some of the mental health and addiction problems we're having in Thunder Bay. It's bringing the community down and it's preventing us from growing," he said.

The last time the voters of the former city of Fort William, Atikokan and the surrounding rural communities, and Fort William First Nation collectively elected a conservative candidate was Mickey Hennessy in 1985. He was defeated two years later in 1987.

Gordy Crompton, 88, joked it has been so long since the PCs held a victory party in Thunder Bay that he forgot how to act when they won.

Crompton has been active with the party since the 1960s. He's watched the conservative movement ebb and flow, but he said Holland's campaign was built from scratch.

"The associations had nobody. Kevin had no place to start from. He wasn't a Rotarian or a Kiwanis. He never had the base to start from but he did it," Crompton said. "He started with no money, and he's come out ahead."

People have given up hope: NDP candidate

The Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding has been decided by less than one per cent of votes in three of the past four elections. Monteith-Farrell defeated 15-year incumbent Liberal Bill Mauro by 81 votes in 2018. This time, she came second to Holland by nearly 900.

Monteith-Farrell said she was proud of what she and the NDP were able to achieve in opposition, and she heard support for New Democrats in the streets, but that wasn't reflected in Thursday night's outcome. She said was disappointed.

"Many people have given up hope and I really fear for the people of Thunder Bay-Atikokan, and I fear for the people of Ontario," Monteith-Farrell said. "I didn't like the agenda of the Ford government. The people that need raises to their ODSP, the people who need dental care and pharmacare and mental health care, the detox beds we need here. I don't see that in their agenda. I see more highways in southern Ontario."

Elections Ontario extended voting hours 45 minutes in one Thunder Bay-based poll.