MANITOULIN – The detailed poll-by-poll results of the October 21 federal election have been released and they offer a more detailed understanding of how Islanders voted in the contest that saw incumbent NDP MP Carol Hughes secure a definitive victory in Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.
Beginning with the victor, Ms. Hughes, she had her highest vote count in Sagamok on the North Shore. There, she secured 231 of the 316 total votes; two of the 316 total were rejected ballots.
Conservative Party of Canada candidate Dave Williamson earned his highest vote count in Bruce Station, winning 158 of the total 345 votes. No ballots were spoiled at this poll.
Green Party of Canada candidate Max Chapman performed strongest at one of the two polls in Richard’s Landing, on distant island neighbour St. Joseph’s Island. There he secured 27 of the 281 total votes at the poll; none was spoiled.
Liberal Party of Canada challenger Heather Wilson had her best showing in poll 16—Hearst, earning 113 of the 224 votes, with seven spoiled ballots at that poll.
People’s Party of Canada representative Dave DeLisle took home his highest vote count in Dean Lake—Iron Bridge, with 16 votes of the total 238; there were two spoiled ballots at the poll.
Finally, Le (Mercury) Marquis de Marmalade, candidate for the Rhinoceros Party of Canada, managed to secure a high score of four votes at his best-performing polling station, though this honour was shared among four polling stations. Three of these were in Hearst (four of 196 votes, four spoiled; four of 236 votes, nine spoiled; four of 224 votes, seven spoiled) and the remaining poll was in Wawa (four of 121 votes, three spoiled).
Riding poll 12—Hearst earned the title of the most rejected ballots at a single polling station in the riding, with nine voters spoiling their vote, whether intentionally or not.
Every poll on Manitoulin Island went to either Ms. Hughes or Mr. Williamson. Of the 33 polls on Manitoulin Island, Ms. Hughes took 28 (or 85 percent) and Mr. Williamson took five (or 15 percent): Whitefish Falls, Honora—Rockville, Meldrum Bay, Big Lake—Sandfield and Spring Bay.
Polls within Manitoulin District First Nations voted overwhelmingly in favour of Ms. Hughes, giving her 1,114 votes, a share worth 73 percent of all 1,517 votes from these polls.
Ms. Wilson scored second place with 162 of those votes or nearly 11 percent. Mr. Chapman came third with the First Nations vote, netting 4.2 percent (64 votes). Mr. Williamson was close on his heels with 3.9 percent (59 votes), followed by Mr. DeLisle at 0.46 percent (seven votes) and Mr. Marmalade at 0.26 percent (four votes).
Elections Canada does not provide enough data to determine voter turnout on a poll-by-poll level, so a comparison of the Island’s democratic participation to that of the rest of Canada was not possible.
