Conservative Jim Bélanger turns Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt blue
Liberal Marc Serré loses his seat after a 10-year run
Conservative Jim Bélanger is the winner in the new riding of Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt, defeating Liberal incumbent Marc Serré.
Serré— whose father Gaetan and uncle Benoît also represented the area in the House of Commons— was first elected as MP for Nickel Belt in 2015 and held the riding in the next two elections.
He said it was an "uphill battle" with the changes in the riding boundary meaning that some of the strongest Liberal areas moved over to the Sudbury riding, as well as a lot of his constituents being upset about carbon taxes and the high cost of living.
Bélanger told CBC News it felt good to surpass expectations.
"It's starting to set in," he said. "Wasn't sure at first that it was for real because we didn't have much of a chance according to the polls."
Belanger, who ran against Serré for the Liberal nomination in Nickel Belt in 2014, had just over 49 per cent of the vote with more than half the polls in the riding reported.
"It's a bit surprising that a big chunk of the NDP vote went to the Conservatives, but it happens," said Serré.
This is the first election since the riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing was absorbed into three neighbouring ridings, with Espanola, Massey and Manitoulin Island being added onto Nickel Belt.