At the end of a rapid campaign, the Green Party is focusing on making strides toward building community relations during this short election.
“It’s been fun,” said Guelph federal candidate Michelle Bowman Monday about all her experiences so far. “No matter what happens I’m excited to do the work, the community building.”
After the polls closed at 9:30 p.m. on Monday evening in Guelph, the results quickly showed Liberal Lloyd Longfield with a big lead of 41.1 per cent of the vote.
With 195 of 247 polls reporting, Bowman had eight per cent of the local vote. In the 2019 election, Green Party candidate Steve Dyck received 25 per cent of the vote.
"We're disappointed but not surprised," said Bowman.
Despite the loss, Bowman took election night as an opportunity to celebrate and express gratitude for those who helped with the campaign and the party's future in Guelph.
“I'm super, super grateful for our small, but mighty team,” said Bowman during a small gathering with volunteers at the party’s campaign office on Norfolk Street.
"They really stepped up, it was awesome."
This election, Bowman made her debut as a federal candidate after years of volunteering with the Green Party, focusing her campaign on science based action on climate change, a national housing strategy, health care, Indigenous reconciliation and more.
On top of becoming the candidate, Bowman was also appointed to the Green Party of Canada shadow cabinet as critic for the environment this year.
"I'm happy with the way things went," said Bowman, adding she is happy with the way the campaign and the debates went, and saw a lot of positive support for the Green party.
The only regret Bowman shares about the campaign was the inability to initiate and lead community building events, something the party plans to do going forward.
"It was too quick to do that," she said.
With the federal election finished, the Provincial Green Party is starting to gear up for the Ontario election in June 2022.
For Bowman, she admits she has been thinking about running again in the future.
"Not for sure, but not a no either."
