THUNDER BAY — Although there were no changes to who will represent the region at Queen’s Park in Thursday’s provincial election, voter turnout did increase in most Northwestern Ontario ridings.
Preliminary results from Elections Ontario show both Thunder Bay ridings saw about 50 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot.
Thunder Bay-Superior North saw 50.2 per cent of registered voters come out to the polls, an increase from 43.3 per cent in 2022.
Similarly, Thunder Bay-Atikokan saw 49.5 per cent voter turnout, an increase from 43.1 per cent in 2022.
Those numbers exceeded the expectations of Thunder Bay-Superior North returning officer Julio Gomes.
“I’m thrilled and this is a testament to all the hard work that the key staff have done here for the last five weeks and also for the dedication that the community has shown those people who worked as poll officials at advanced polls and also on polling night,” he said. “It’s a testament to their hard work that we got to 50 per cent.”
Gomes said election night went off without a hitch.
“We didn’t have any problems, no logistical or infrastructure issues, and thankfully the winter storm they were predicting for yesterday decided to do us a favour and slow down so we didn’t have any issues with the weather,” he said.
“There are the usual little bumps with technology and being understaffed at some polls,” Gomes added. “People had to wait a few minutes, but otherwise it actually went quite well and I'm very pleased.”
Kenora-Rainy River also saw an increase in voter turnout with 50 per cent of registered voters casting a ballot. This is up from 40.2 per cent in 2022.
Kiiwetinoong did see a dip in voter turnout. However, not all polling results were available by Friday afternoon. Elections Ontario had voter turnout at 24.7 per cent, down from 30.4 per cent in 2022.
