Former Ajax MP Mark Holland won his old job back on Oct. 19.
Four years ago, the federal Liberal politician lost the seat he held from 2004 to 2011 to Conservative Chris Alexander.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is good to be back.” Holland said at Cocktail House Bar and Lounge, his election night party headquarters. “While Chris (Alexander) and I disagree profoundly on issues, standing and serving is a challenge and I know how difficult it is to lose.”
The newly re-elected Ajax MP was joined by cheering supporters, family, friends, a few Blue Jays fans enjoying playoff baseball, and newly elected Pickering-Uxbridge MP Jennifer O’Connell.
“We have a lot to be proud of tonight, not just in Ajax and Pickering, but across the country,” O’Connell said when she took the stage. “Canadians have sent a message to Ottawa. Hope and positivity and working for Canadians is what we must do.”
Holland agreed.
“We have a majority government, but with that government comes an enormous responsibility: a responsibility to change the politics of division, to stop attacking people who have different opinions, to put aside the derision, and say that we are one country,” he said. “I aspire to make sure that every one of our citizens feels like they’re part of the Canadian family.”
Regaining his old seat, he said, is just the beginning.
“Tomorrow,” a smiling Holland said as he stepped off the stage, “we have a lot of work to do.”