# 2024 Lambton—Kent—Middlesex provincial by-election

A by-election was held in the provincial riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex in Ontario on May 2, 2024, to elect a new member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario following the resignation of Progressive Conservative MPP and cabinet minister Monte McNaughton.
Monte McNaughton resigned for a private sector position as executive vice-president of industry relations and people experience for Woodbine Entertainment Group.
Advance voting took place from April 21-26, 2024 in Wallaceburg and Strathroy.
It was held the same day as the 2024 Milton provincial by-election.

## Candidates
### Progressive Conservative

On 27 January 2024, Steve Pinsonneault, a Chatham-Kent councillor for 17 years in Ward 3 (Kent East) and businessman in Thamesville, beat Neal Roberts, chief of the Middlesex London Paramedic Service. Pinsonneault has received criticism from various media sources and the ultra conservative Campaign Life Coalition for his support of pay suspension of fellow Chatham-Kent councillor Rhonda Jubenville. This was in response to her conduct following her support of a ban on non-official flags, including pride flags, on municipal property.

### New Democratic Party

Kathryn Shailer was elected in Watford on February 15th to take up the New Democratic Banner. Shailer is from Alvinston. In the fall of 2022, Shailer ran for Lambton-Kent District School Board trustee in Central Lambton. She was unsuccessful in that bid. Shailer, a mother of two, and has been involved with the Brooke-Alvinston Optimist Club, Friends of Campbell Park, the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts, Alvinston Arts and Music Festival and Community Friendship Meals at Bothwell United Church. Shailer opposes the Dresden, Ontario landfill expansion. Shailer supports keeping Strathroy hospitals labour and delivery program alive in Strathroy-Caradoc instead of forcing residents to go to St. Thomas, Ontario or London, Ontario.

### Liberal

Cathy Burghardt-Jesson is running for the Liberal Party of Ontario. She currently serves as the mayor of Lucan-Biddulph and deputy warden for Middlesex County. She was first elected to be deputy mayor of Lucan-Biddulph in 2010, has been mayor since 2014 and was warden of Middlesex County for three one year terms until becoming deputy warden for 2024.

### New Blue

Keith Benn, a geoscientist and local of Wallaceburg, is running an anti-establishment campaign with a reported focus on local issues, affordability, and providing a "classical conservative" approach to governance. Ben stated in an interview with My FM "Ontario really needed a true conservative party once again, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario are not conservative in any sense of the term they're on the left side of the political spectrum, more progressives and corporatists, not so different from the liberals".
He previously ran as a candidate for the New Blue Party in the Sarnia-Lambton riding during the 2022 Ontario General Election. Major topics discussed by Benn have included opposition to the dump being built in Dresden, ensuring clean well water, and promoting fiscal conservatism. Benn supports private clinics funded through the public healthcare system.
At his events, he has campaigned against the 'diversity, equity and inclusion' (DEI) focus of schools, opposes Critical Race Theory, and believes in meritocracy.
He was involved in investigating the safety of well water after turbine installations in Chatham-Kent.

### Green

Andraena Tilgner, a registered Respiratory therapist is running a campaign with a focus on healthcare issues and Climate change. Tilgner is originally from British Columbia moving to Ontario in 1998. She gained a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc.) from the University of Western Ontario in 2002.

### None of The Above Party

Stephen R. Campbell is the candidate for the None of The Above Party, previously running with them as a candidate for MPP in London-Fanshawe. He is a technical support analyst with the Thames Valley District School Board. Campbell opposes the Dresden, Ontario dump plan, Carbon pricing in Canada and Transmission line which Campbell says "take up valuable farm land".

### Ontario Party

Cynthia Workman, a resident of Thamesville and 2022 Ontario Party candidate in London West is running in this by-election. She was running as an independent until the Ontario Party was re-registered on April 10, 2024. She is also the presumptive candidate for the People's Party of Canada in the soon-to-be-created federal riding of Middlesex-London.

### Family Rights Party

Hilda Walton is the candidate running for the Family Rights Party.

## Polling

| Polling firm | Last date of polling | PC | NDP | Liberal | Green | Other | Margin of error | Sample size | Polling tye | Lead |
| Liaison Strategies | April 25, 2024 | 52% | 14% | 21% | 8% | 5% | ±5.11% | 367 | IVR | 31% |
| Mainstreet Research | April 16, 2024 | 58% | 13% | 18% | 4% | 7% | — | 270 | Telephone | 40% |
| Liaison Strategies | March 28, 2024 | 39% | 14% | 26% | 12% | 9% | ±4.88% | 403 | IVR | 13% |

## Results

Ontario provincial by-election, May 2, 2024: Lambton—Kent—Middlesex Resignation of Monte McNaughton :
| ** Preliminary results — Not yet official ** |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Steve Pinsonneault | 15,649 | 56.85 | -1.96 |
| | Liberal | Cathy Burghardt-Jesson | 6,208 | 22.55 | +12.97 |
| | New Democratic | Kathryn Shailer | 2,973 | 10.80 | -8.04 |
| | New Blue | Keith Benn | 1,513 | 5.50 | -0.87 |
| | Green | Andraena Tilgner | 429 | 1.56 | -2.42 |
| | None of the Above | Stephen R. Campbell | 360 | 1.31 | +0.60 |
| | Ontario Party | Cynthia Workman | 310 | 1.13 | -0.59 |
| | Family Rights | Hilda Walton | 87 | 0.23 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 27,529 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 30.25 | -17.08 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 90,993 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -7.46 |