Byelection results: Conservatives hold Calgary seats, Liberals keep Ottawa, Montreal, Markham
Federal seats held by high-profile MPs from Liberal and Conservative parties remain in party folds
The Liberals will hold on to each of their seats in Montreal, Ottawa and north of Toronto in Markham after federal byelections on Monday night, while the Conservatives kept both of their seats in Calgary.
Mona Fortier won the federal byelection in Ottawa-Vanier with over 51 per cent of the vote, compared with NDP candidate Emilie Taman, who finished just under 29 per cent of the vote with all 255 polls reporting.
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Liberal candidate Emmanuella Lambropoulos prevailed in the byelection in Saint Laurent, earning 59 per cent of the vote with all polls reported. Conservative candidate Jimmy Yu currently was a distant second at 19.5 per cent.
Lambropoulos is a 26-year-old teacher who lives in the riding. She gave a victory speech Monday, 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 her predecessor, former Liberal cabinet minister Stéphane Dion, left off.
"I'm looking forward to working with all of you," she said.
In the night's closest result, Mary Ng won in Markham-Thornhill, another hold for the Liberals. With all polls reporting, Ng captured 51 per cent of the vote, while her nearest competitor, Conservative candidate Ragavan Paranchothy, had 39 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory for Ng was just over 2,300 votes.
Stephanie Kusie will head to Ottawa representing Calgary Midnapore after taking over 77 per cent of the vote in the riding, with Liberal Haley Brown far behind at 17 per cent with all polls reporting.
Kusie will fill the seat previously held by former Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney, who resigned his seat to run for the Progressive Conservative leadership in Alberta.
"Tonight the voters in our riding chose to continue supporting the principles that have made Calgary Midnapore a bedrock of this nation," Kusie said to a cheering crowd of supporters.
Conservative candidate Bob Benzen won the riding of Calgary Heritage, taking 72 per cent of the vote. Liberal candidate Scott Forsyth finished second with nearly 22 per cent.
The new MPs are being elected to seats once occupied by high-profile Conservative and Liberal MPs including:
- Calgary-Heritage, vacated by former prime minister Stephen Harper, who left politics shortly after the 2015 federal election.
- Calgary-Midnapore, vacated by former Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney, who resigned his seat to move into provincial Alberta politics.
- Markham-Thornhill, vacated by former Liberal immigration minister John McCallum, who left to take up the position of ambassador to China.
- Saint-Laurent, vacated by former Liberal foreign affairs minister Stéphane Dion, who left to become ambassador to Germany and the European Union.
- Ottawa-Vanier, left vacant by the death Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, who died last August after being diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
The lack of upsets is not surprising, as all of the ridings are considered strongholds for their respective political parties.
Turnout on Monday night ranged from over 34 per cent in Ottawa–Vanier, to 27.5 per cent in Markham-Thornhill.
