The polls closed at 9:30 in Ontario and Quebec, starting the count that could well decide which party forms the next government.
Conservative Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, caught in a controversy over Canada’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis, lost his seat in Ajax, Ont.as the Liberals solidified a likely majority government. The longer campaign allowed Trudeau to incrementally demonstrate he was not as risky as the Conservatives suggested.
Sarnia-Lambton: This is a bellwether riding, having elected the winning party’s candidate in every election since 1963. The NDP has fielded former provincial MLA Erin Selby while the Liberals are running long-time municipal politician Dan Vandal while the Conservatives are counting on long-time resident Francois Catellier to hold the seat for them.
The battle for Surrey Centre is between incumbent Jinny Sims (NDP), Sukh Dhaliwal (Liberal), Harpreet Singh (Conservative) and Pamela Sangha (Green). There’s lots of speculation about the role of strategic voting in the riding as Conservative Erinn Broshko, Liberal Jody Wilson-Raybould and the NDP’s Mira Oreck face off in a tight race.
The Liberals, with about 44 per cent of the popular vote in Ontario, were also leading in NDP-held ridings including Thunder Bay-Rainy River and Toronto-Danforth, once held by the party’s revered former leader, Jack Layton.
But Dominic LeBlanc, Trudeau’s longtime friend and a Liberal incumbent, believes his popularity stems from his ability to connect with voters on a personal level.
The riding went to the NDP in 2011, but the Liberals hope former Toronto police chief Bill Blair will regain the seat the party held from 1997 to 2008, despite a third-place finish in the riding in 2011.
“People who did not want the Conservatives to win were looking at the NDP as serious contenders”, he said from Cornwall, P.E.I.
That increased turnout carried into the main event, with long lines at polling stations in many parts of the country.
An extra 12 ridings have been created in Western Canada for the 2015 election, six in British Columbia bringing the province to 42 ridings, and six in Alberta making the total 34.
A face covering is permitted at the polls if the voter swears an oath attesting to their status as an elector and shows the required identification, said Babin Dufresne.
However, Nanos said, many voters have come to view Trudeau as the leader most capable of defeating Harper. “There’s always a phrase that stands out in a campaign and this time it was, “Thank you for coming back” from beginning to end”. She planned to be in Victoria with fellow candidates to watch the results roll in.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has fallen about 10 points, and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has remained relatively unchanged.
