Liberals’ Wilson second by 6%
MANITOULIN— It was a sea of change that swept across the country on October 19, Election Day, but the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing were not up for change, voting to keep NDP incumbent Carol Hughes steady at the helm as Member of Parliament.
The Expositor caught up with Carol Hughes at her Elliot Lake campaign headquarters on Monday night, celebrating her win with her team and supporters.
“I’m ecstatic to be returning to Ottawa to represent the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing,” Ms. Hughes told The Expositor. “I am honoured people believed in me to represent them. It was a real nail biter for me—a lot closer then I anticipated. I told my staff, you never know what will happen until election night.”
“I am saddened for my colleagues that will not be returning to Ottawa,” said Ms. Hughes of the NDP members of parliament who lost their seats as Canadians opted for a Liberal majority government. “I was shocked that so many were not re-elected. I hope this government works with other parties more then the Conservatives did.”
“At the end of the day, I will continue to represent this riding the same as I have in the past,” continued Ms. Hughes of what the majority government will mean for the riding. “We knew that the boundary change would bring new challenges, but I will continue to hold constituency clinics and will continue to be a strong voice in Ottawa, advocating for our needs in Northern Ontario and in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.”
The final tally of 41,427 votes cast was 40 percent for NDP incumbent Carol Hughes; 34.1 percent for Heather Wilson and the Liberal Party; 23.7 percent for André Robichaud and the Conservative Party; and 2.2 percent for the Green Party’s Cal Orok.
Conservative candidate André Robichaud was upbeat despite his third place finish. “First of all, I want to congratulate Carol Hughes on her victory and to congratulate Heather Wilson on running a very successful campaign,” he said. Mr. Robichaud thanked his volunteers, saying “we ran a positive campaign. In the hall tonight, I felt for the volunteers.” The Conservative candidate said that he had put everything into the campaign, as he does in everything he does, and that he savoured every minute of it.
The Expositor reached Green Party candidate Cal Orok at his White River home on election night. “I’m happy,” he said of his results. “I’ve got 797 votes and I spent $363 (on his campaign).”
“I think this Liberal sweep is amazing and that’s good for the country,” Mr. Orok continued, adding that with just two years until this country’s 150th anniversary, having Justin Trudeau, with his young family by his side, as leader of this country was a good thing. “It’s a turn in the right direction.”
Liberal Party candidate Heather Wilson said she couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the results. (Ms. Wilson trailed Ms. Hughes by four to six percent throughout the reporting of polls Monday night, and this remained the level of divide between her second place finish to Ms. Hughes’ winning tally when all polling results were counted.)
However, she said she was pleased to see her many Liberal colleagues elected, saying “they will do great things for this country.”
Ms. Wilson said she was “very excited” to see her party’s leader Justin Trudeau elected as prime minister. “I knew he was going to bring real change to Canada and he’s shown everyone that he’s certainly 100 percent ready.”
Please see next week’s Expositor for a poll by poll breakdown of how the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding voted in this historic election.
