By Emily Stonehouse
The people have spoken: Mark Carney is officially Canada’s Prime Minister. In a nail-biting election where the polls kept Canadians on their toes, the Liberal Party has once again come out on top.
At the time of press with 99 per cent of polls reporting, it’s looking like the Liberals will form a minority government, with 168 seats. 172 is the goal to hit in order to form a majority.
The Conservatives will stay in the official opposition role yet again, with Pierre Poilievre as the fourth consecutive leader to fall to the Liberals since 2015. Poilievre has also lost his seat as a Member of Parliament (MP) in his own Ottawa-based riding of Carleton to the Liberals, ending his nearly 20 year stint in the role.
“I chose to enter politics because I felt we needed big changes in this country, but big changes guided by strong Canadian values,” Carney said during a media conference early Tuesday morning.
On the home front, incumbent Jamie Schmale has secured his fourth term as MP for Haliburton – Kawartha Lakes. He secured his spot with 42,056 votes, which translated to 56.8 per cent. “I am incredibly honoured and humbled to have been elected for a fourth term,” said Schmale. “Your concerns, hopes, and values guided this campaign every step of the way, and they will continue to guide my work in Ottawa.”
From what is normally a true blue riding, Liberal candidate Nell Thomas fought diligently, but ended the race with 28,476 votes, from 38.5 per cent of voters. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who has supported us,” said Thomas when she took to Instagram on election day, “whether by volunteering, sharing kind messages, or helping spread the word. Your dedication, generosity, and belief in what we are building together means more than we can express.”
Despite minimal presence in the riding, the New Democratic Party’s Aylea Teel managed to rack up 2576 votes, or 3.5 per cent, and the Peoples Party of Canada in the area received 937 votes, equating to 1.3 per cent.
On a national stage, trailing the Liberal’s 168 seats, the Conservatives have secured 144, the Bloc Quebecois 23, the NDP at seven, and Green have confirmed one.
The NDP held 24 seats prior to the election, and due to the polarizing nature of the federal dispute, lost significant votes to the Liberal Party. With only seven seats, they have lost their official party status, as there is a minimum requirement for 12 in order to maintain their presence in the House of Commons. With the loss, longtime leader Jagmeet Singh announced he would be stepping down as the NDP representative.
