Well-known MP, MPP Daryl Kramp passes away

Daryl Kramp passed away Thursday at the age of 76.

Tributes and condolences are were offered Friday following the death of Daryl Kramp.

The veteran politician passed away Thursday at the age of 76.

“For a backbench MP on Parliament Hill, he punched above his weight,” said Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith, who served alongside Kramp following the 2018 provincial election, and was also a friend of Kramp’s.

Kramp was the Conservative MP for the former Hastings Prince Edward riding from 2004 until 2015.

He came back to politics in 2018 and won the provincial riding of Hastings Lennox and Addington as a Progressive Conservative but did not run for re-election in 2022.

Many people are remembering the man.

“Just a big barrel of laughs. A wise man and a great friend,” said Smith on Friday.

“I think the best thing I can remember him [by] is his smile,” added Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis, who also served as Mayor when Kramp was MP in the neighbouring riding of Prince Edward-Hastings.

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“Personable, knowledgeable, down to earth, someone who could be approached in virtually any circumstance and the type of person that many of us consider a role model,” said Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson.

Kramp came from humble political beginnings as a municipal councillor and reeve in Madoc.

For Smith and Ellis, there are too many accomplishments to count.

“He brought a lot of investment to the area. Every time I drive by that massive VIA station in Belleville I think of Daryl Kramp,” said Smith.

“I think the biggest accomplishment that Daryl achieved for the City of Belleville, plus all of the other things he did for the riding, was the pool in the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre, the addition on that,” added Ellis.

Perhaps one of his greatest achievements came in 2021, when one of Kramp’s daughters, Shelby Kramp-Neuman, ran for and won the federal seat in her father’s old riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington.