The new star of the Tory party, Leslyn Lewis, announced Tuesday she will seek a parliamentary seat in Ontario..The riding of Haldimand—Norfolk has been represented by Diane Finley since 2004, when it was created..“Haldimand-Norfolk is a beautiful place with the most amazing, hard-working people. It would be an absolute honour to represent them and fight to make their lives better,” said Lewis in a statement..On Aug. 17, Finley announced that she wouldn’t be running in the next federal election..“Leslyn has shown time and again that she is hardworking and passionate, just like the people here in Haldimand-Norfolk,” said Finley..“Not only has she proven with each conversation that she is knowledgeable about the issues that matter most to our community, but the way that she connects with people makes me confident that she would represent us incredibly well. I offer Leslyn my full support as she works toward becoming the Member of Parliament for Haldimand-Norfolk.”.Finley and Lewis were seen touring around both Haldimand and Norfolk Counties, meeting prominent people in the community, and Lewis has now begun house hunting in the riding..In a stunning result last month, Lewis captured more of the popular vote than winner Erin O’Toole and runner-up Peter MacKay did on the second ballot for the Tory party leadership..Lewis won all four Western provinces on the second ballot..On the second ballot, Lewis had 60,316 votes, while O’Toole had 56,907 and MacKay had 54,165. That breaks down to 35.2 per cent for Lewis, 33.2 for O’Toole and 31.6 for MacKay.. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .But because of the weighted-by-constituency system used by the Tories – where ridings count equally regardless of how many ballots are cast – Lewis ranked just third in the points awarded..It was a shockingly good result for a woman who was relatively unknown outside of her community before the race to replace Andrew Scheer started..There had been hope out West, Lewis would run for a seat there, including the possibility of Calgary..Lewis, a black woman with immigrant parents, even won the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan by large margins..Lewis, a mom to two children, who holds a PhD in law and a Masters in Environmental Studies and has her own law firm. .“To me, if you want to get things done and do them well, you need courage, compassion and common sense. This has always been my motto, whether it’s fighting injustice or raising my family, that’s what I will bring to the table as the Conservative candidate for Haldimand-Norfolk. I hope that I can count on your support because, together, I know that we can do great things,” said Lewis..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
