During his victory speech, the Liberal candidate in the Scarborough-Rouge Park riding, dedicated his win to a group often criticized for its political apathy.
Scarborough-Rouge Park is a newly formed riding, previously separated into three ridings that elected a Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat respectively.
However, this time, Liberal Gary Anandasangaree took an early lead and never looked back. He attracted more than 60 per cent of the vote, according to the CBC’s Canada Votes website, with Conservative Leslyn Lewis earning 27.3 per cent, and NDP candidate K.M. Shanthikumar 10.4 per cent. Anandasangaree was particularly grateful to the youth for his win.
“I want to dedicate tonight and this victory to our young people and to the youth of Scarborough-Rouge Park and this country,” he said. “I’ve often heard people say that young people don’t want to get involved in politics, that young people can’t be bothered to vote.”
While the attack advertisements against Justin Trudeau poked fun at his inexperience and youth, Gary Anandasangaree surrounded himself with youth, from his volunteers, to his press secretary to his campaign manager.
Mitzie Hunter, Liberal MPP for Scarborough Guildwood, explained how Gary Anandasangaree activated the youth in his riding.
“What’s been important for Gary’s campaign is that the youth were involved and engaged in the campaign itself. Part of voting is engagement and he succeeded in that,” Hunter said, adding that in addition Trudeau was “relatable and engaged with the public.”