Liberal Wayne Long wins a 4th time in new riding of Saint John-Kennebecasis

Saint John-Kennebecasis Liberal candidate Wayne Long has won a fourth mandate, after changing his mind about not running again.

At about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, with 158 of 159 polls in, Long had nearly 58 per cent of the vote, trailed by Conservative candidate Melissa Young with about 37 per cent.

Long began his acceptance speech on a bit of sombre note, sharing an anecdote about his late mother with supporters at O'Leary's Pub in the city's uptown.

Pauline Long was hospitalized when Mark Carney visited Saint John on Feb. 2 to pursue his Liberal leadership bid. At that time, Wayne Long didn't plan to seek re-election.

He was the first Liberal MP to call for an increasingly unpopular Justin Trudeau to resign as Liberal leader in June 2024.

"For the future of our party and for the good of our country, we need new leadership and a new direction," Long wrote in an email to caucus, obtained by CBC News.

Long didn't tell his mother Carney was in town but she saw a photo of them together on social media, and when he visited her in hospital she said, "You're going to run again, aren't you?"

"I said, 'Mom, Mark Carney completely inspires me.' And she said, 'Go and win.'"

His mother died eight days later at the age of 87 and didn't get to see him win, he said.

"I'm just so humbled," said Long, who thanked his wife Denise, son Connor and volunteers for their support.

'Carney was the difference-maker'

Carney, who became party leader in March and then prime minister, changed the trajectory of the election, amid U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff and annexation threats, according to Long.

He "was the difference-maker. I heard it door after door."

Carney was also what prompted Long to reoffer in the redrawn riding, which covers parts of the city of Saint John that are east of the St. John River, Saint John Harbour, Rothesay and Quispamsis, and areas of the Simonds Parish.

Vulnerable riding

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce ranked Saint John the most tariff-vulnerable city in Canada because of its huge economic dependence on exports. More than 96 per cent of Saint John's total exports go south of the border, largely focused on energy, forestry and aquaculture products, according to the chamber.

"Whether it's Moosehead Breweries or Cooke Aquaculture or the Irving conglomerate or Crosby Molasses — every business that employs thousands of people in this riding were impacted," said Long.

"So they were looking for leadership. They looked at Mark Carney. I think Mark was somewhat of a blood pressure-lowerer for the country. When he spoke, people listened. People wanted to hear what he had to say. And again, I heard it door after door."

Young, the former CEO of Skilled Trades Ontario, did not respond to requests for comment. She was appointed by the Conservatives as the riding candidate, shutting down a competitive race.

Three candidates were seeking the nomination — Young, Lisa Keenan and James Robertson, while a fourth, Dr. Jeff Steeves, quit the race last summer, alleging the party's national office favoured one of them.

Long also beat Green candidate David Macfarquhar, who ran as a Green Party candidate in the 2022 Quebec election, Libertarian Party of Canada candidate Austin Venedam, who was the Libertarian candidate for the riding of Rothesay in the 2024 provincial election, NDP candidate Armand Cormier, who was the NDP candidate for the riding of Saint John-Rothesay in the 2019 federal election and also ran provincially in 2020 as the NDP candidate for the riding of Fredericton West-Silverwood.

Long was elected as the MP for the former riding of Saint John-Rothesay in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

He was also the president of the Saint John Sea Dogs Hockey Club for more than a decade.