Staff
Local students “re-elected” NDP candidate John Rafferty as part of mock elections held in conjunction with Monday’s vote.
The ballots were cast by participating schools last week as part of the “Student Vote” initiative, which aims to encourage youth involvement and interest in politics.
For the 2011 election here in Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Rafferty garnered 612 votes from students, followed by Liberal candidate Ken Boshcoff at 317.
In a squeaker, Green candidate Ed Shields came in third place with 215 votes while Conservative hopeful Maureen (“Moe”) Comuzzi-Stehmann garnered 214.
Three schools in Rainy River District participated in this year’s “Student Vote.”
A small contingent at Mine Centre school gave Rafferty eight votes, Shields seven, Comuzzi-Stehmann three, and Boshcoff one.
Meanwhile, J.W. Walker also went NDP orange, with 29 votes for Rafferty, 10 for Comuzzi-Stehmann, six for Boshcoff, and four for Shields.
Finally, 144 votes went to Rafferty at Fort High, followed by Shields with 69, Comuzzi-Stehmann at 45, and Boshcoff with 37.
While Conservatives captured a majority government Monday night, they only were handed a minority government by students, with the NDP as the Official Opposition.
The Conservatives were voted in with 128 seats this time around—up from 102 in 2008—and 30.8 percent of the vote.
For the third-straight time, the NDP were voted in as the Official Opposition, winning 113 seats with 25.9 percent of the popular vote.
The Liberals won 48 seats with 19.9 percent of the vote.
The Greens saw a huge loss, winning only five seats—down from the 41 they had won in 2008.
Also hit hard was the Bloc Quebecois, who won a total of five seats compared to the 28 students gave them last time around.
