Cumpson to carry NDP banner in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston in provincial election

Jeff Green | Dec 15, 2021

Drew Cumpson hopes to be the next MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston (LFK). He took a step in that direction by winning the NDP nomination over John MaCrae after an online vote among members of the LFK riding association. His win was announced during that nomination meeting, on Zoom, Sunday afternoon.

When it came time to make a formal nomination, John MacRae was the mover of the motion to offer Cumpson the nomination.

“This makes it unanimous,” MacRae said.

“I would like to thank everyone for the support I have received,” Cumpson said, in his acceptance speech. I am ready for action. We have never seen someone with a physical disability contesting this riding. I was able bodied for 20 years and have been disabled for 10 plus years.

We need to make drastic changes, repeal bill C124, make the temporary wage expansion permanent, provide fair and equitable pay for home care and nursing. Over 4400 seniors have died in long term care, and yet the province is creating over 12,000 beds in private long term care facilities, when most of those deaths occurred in privately run homes.

“We need to keep rental rates under control, we need to stop landlords from evicting tenants.

We are dealing with issues of rural gentrification as people migrate from the cities. We need to create housing options for people who have been displaced. 

Accessibility is an important issue to me. It is time that we elect the NDP as our provincial government, as the Liberals and Conservatives have failed to address it properly.”

Joel Harden, the NDP Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa Centre, and the party critic for Accessibility and Persons with Disabilities, was a guest at the meeting.

He touted Cumpson as a potential Minister for Accessibility in an NDP government, pointing out that 4000 young Ontarians with disabilities are living in long term care facilities.

“That is not what they are doing in Manitoba or BC, where they have invested in home care and other supports instead. People in their 20's and 30's don't belong in long term care,” he said.

“I cannot wait to work with Drew,” Harden added, “not only to get rid of Randy (current LFK MPP Randy Hillier), that's just step 1. Step 2 is sending someone like Drew to Toronto. Who will be able to say no to Drew? No one will be able to say no to this guy.”

Harden also pointed out that in the 2016 election, Randy Hillier, who was then representing the Conservative Party, received 50% of the vote in LFK, and Ramsay Hart, representing the NDP, received 30%. He sees an opening for the NDP this time.

“Randy is running against the Conservative candidate this time,” said Harden, “the Conservatives are split down the middle in the riding, that 50% could become 25% Conservative and 25% Hillier. Drew only has to keep the 30% vote share to win.”

Jeff Atkinson, who chaired the nomination meeting, is a riding association executive member from Carleton Place.

“I am hearing a lot of support in Carleton Place and that is the bluest part of the riding,” he said. “We spent $40,000 in this riding in 2018,'' he said. “We need to spend more this time to win it.”

With that, Atkinson initiated a fundraising campaign among those at the meeting, resulting in some immediate financial commitments.

(Drew Cumpson has been an advocate for independent living for disabled persons, starting with his own circumstance and extending to others once he was able to establish a permanent home for himself. His advocacy has been documented in the Frontenac News since 2011. For further information, search the archives at Frontenacnews.ca. He was originally from the Godfrey area, attended Sydenham High School, and currently resides just outside of the LFK boundary in Lennox and Addington County.)