It took three campaigns for provincial leader Mike Schreiner to clear a historic hurdle and get Guelph to give him Ontario’s first Green Party seat.

But it took only a few minutes after his victory was declared for the incoming MPP to issue a warning to Ontario’s next premier, Progressive Conservative Doug Ford.

“He had better listen to the Green MPP from Guelph,” the 48-year-old Schreiner told jubilant supporters.

Later he told reporters that it was a friendly salvo — and that Ford has acknowledged the human causes of climate change.

The Green Leader believed he would “be a strong voice for change at Queen’s Park,” able to offer ideas on the green economy and employment to the incoming government.

“Every government has to listen to the people of Ontario,” said Schreiner, who promised supporters he would be working to protect and expand the environmentally and agriculturally sensitive Greenbelt surrounding Toronto.

Thursday’s win, he said, was only the beginning.

“After the next election we will celebrate Green MPPs in Parry Sound-Muskoka and Kingston,” Schreiner pledged.

By way of thanking Guelph voters, Schreiner promised to make them proud of their vote and their city, working to make sure the planet is livable for future generations and to help Ontario embrace a clean economy.

The environmental and social equity message of the Green Party helped Schreiner pull ahead in a tight, three-way race between himself, the NDP’s Agnieszka (Aggie) Mylnarz and Progressive Conservative candidate Ray Ferraro.

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Liberal candidate Sly Castaldi, who had hoped to win the seat from departing Liberal Liz Sandals, trailed the field.

Schreiner had 29,082 votes, more than double the combined totals of Ferraro (14,084) and Mlynarz (13,928). Castaldi had just 6,537 votes.

Citing the example of federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Schreiner pledged to play a leadership role in reforming the “hyper-partisanship” of Queen’s Park.

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“I think the way I conducted myself in this campaign… I didn’t spend my time tearing the other parties down, I talked about how we can build Ontario up. I think that’s the change we need,” he said.

“I’m hoping through my actions and through the way I conduct myself, I can ask questions and participate in the process in a way that is less negative and less adversarial,” said Schreiner, who is married to University of Toronto sociology professor Sandy Welsh. They have two daughters, Isabelle, 18, and Beata, 12.

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For more up-to-the-minute results, visit the Star’s Ontario election page