Saint-Laurent riding rallies behind Liberal rookie Emmanuella Lambropoulos

Voters in the Liberal stronghold of Saint-Laurent have chosen rookie politician Emmanuella Lambropoulos as their new representative in the House of Commons.

She won with just under 10,000 votes, netting 59 per cent of the vote overall. Conservative candidate Jimmy Yu came in second place with 20 per cent.

The riding of Saint-Laurent has been Liberal since the 1980s, and was formerly held by Stéphane Dion for two decades, before he quit politics earlier this year.

• Stéphane Dion steps away from politics, calls career 'an incredible adventure'

Lambropoulos is a 26-year-old teacher and Saint-Laurent resident.

She gave a victory speech Monday evening, saying, "I will be an MP for all of you. My door will always be open to you."

She thanked her team and supporters in a bilingual address, saying she was "proud" to pick up where Dion left off.

"I'm looking forward to working with all of you," she said.

Surprise nomination win

Lambropoulos won the Liberal nomination last month in an upset that saw her beat former provincial immigration minister and presumed front-runner Yolande James.

• High school teacher beats out Yolande James to win Liberal nomination in Saint-Laurent

In her speech, she recalled getting involved in politics from an early age and connecting with the key values of her party.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Lambropoulos on the campaign trail last week.

"I am very happy to present to you Emmanuella, who entirely understands the riding, who grew up here, who has lived here her whole life, who is ready to take up the challenge to bring a strong voice for Saint-Laurent to Ottawa," said Trudeau at her campaign headquarters last Monday.

• Trudeau hits Saint-Laurent campaign trail as clock ticks down to byelection

Low voter turnout

Voter turnout was low with only about 16,000 people coming out to vote, an estimated 23 per cent of all the registered voters.

Turnout in Saint-Laurent was the second lowest in all five of the federal byelections held Monday night.

In the 2015 general election, Dion won his seat with more than 24,000 votes, with turnout hovering at almost 60 per cent.

Other candidates running in the byelection included:

• Mathieu Auclair, for the NDP.
• Daniel Green, for the Green Party.
• William Fayad, for the Bloc Québécois.
• Chinook Blais-Leduc, for the Rhinoceros Party.