Beaches-East York has given Michael Prue a strong fourth mandate.
Though the race in east-end Toronto was close – with Liberal candidate Helen Burstyn on his tail through the evening vote count – Prue managed to win with a plurality of 3,000 votes (17,586 votes for Prue and 13,658 votes for Burstyn).
“What was really magic was all of you,” Prue said to his supporters, “all of you who did so much work for this election.”
About 100 people gathered for Prue’s victory party at the Toronto Naval Club, just after 9 p.m. They watched television screens as the numbers were posted declaring Prue re-elected for his fourth consecutive win.
Brian Suddard, one of Prue’s campaign volunteers, had kind words for his chosen candidate.
“He’s really community-oriented and he likes to help out community centres or if people want to put up buildings and stuff, he’s there,” he said.
Suddard has followed Michael Prue since the politician was the mayor of East York, but it’s Suddard’s first time volunteering in a provincial election.
“He has always been a really honest guy,” he said.
By 11 p.m. re-elected MPP Prue arrived to the sound of cheers and applause from his supporters. Prue said he doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do next, but is ready to explore all options.
“We have four more years and we need to get ready and we’ll do it again,” Prue said.