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durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday, June 9, 2022 | 12 Let us show you our premium amenities and tastefully appointed suites. Please ask our dedicated team any questions you have about senior living at Amica. TO SCHEDULE A PR I VATE TOUR , PLEASE CALLK ATAR INA OR LYNN AT 905-665-6200 IT ' S A BIG MOVE . A TOUR MIGHT HELP. 20 0 K EN NETH HOBB S AV E A M IC A .C A / W H I T BY Ontario saw the lowest voter turnout in its history during the provincial 2022 election with unofficial results showing about 43 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot. What were the numbers like in Durham? Below 50 per cent in all five ridings in the region. The highest level of voter turnout was in Whitby at 48.4 per cent, followed by Pickering-Uxbridge at 45 per cent and Durham riding at 43.5 per cent. The lowest turnouts were in Ajax at 39.7 per cent and Oshawa at 39.1 per cent. Ontario's voter turnout for this election was down from 57 per cent in 2018 and Elections Ontario confirms 2022 was the lowest turnout on record. It's a sign that voters, uninspired by the parties' campaigns, their leaders and the lack of driving issues, opted for the familiar, says Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto. "When you don't have appetite for change, a lot of people just stay home." To a large extent, he said, it was the result of a relatively stable economy and people wanting to put the pandemic in their rearview mirror. "Spring has turned into summer, and people aren't worse off than they were four years ago," he said. "The economy is booming. Now, of course, that's not a permanent state ... but there isn't a sense that: 'If we elect this party or that party, that's going to make a difference.'" - With files from Torstar News Service DURHAM SAW VOTER TURNOUT BELOW 50 PER CENT IN ALL FIVE RIDINGS PROVINCIAL ELECTION Voter turnout for the 2022 provincial election was below 50 per cent in all five ridings in Durham. Susie Kockerscheidt/Metroland