Canada’s electoral map has gone red - and so have both seats covering Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach. The Reminder can confirm that, for the first time since 2007, both northern seats will be held by Liberal MPs.
Whether or not the Liberal Party of Canada had enough seats for a majority or would be stuck with a minority government was not yet known as of The Reminder’s Tuesday morning press time, but the party did enough to win its fourth consecutive federal election. Leader Mark Carney will regain his recently-won title of Prime Minister, beating the Conservatives in seat count and the popular vote but stopping short of the 171 seats needed to win a majority.
What isn’t in doubt is who will represent the north in Ottawa. In northern Manitoba, Rebecca Chartrand bucked the trend of the last five elections, taking down now-former NDP MP Niki Ashton. Northern Saskatchewan will also elect a Liberal, the first to represent the region in almost two decades, in Buckley Belanger, the long-time former NDP MLA and mayor of Ile-a-la-Crosse.
Manitoba
As of The Reminder’s press time Tuesday morning, Chartrand led Ashton 7,985 to 5,262 in votes with 145 of 181 polls reporting, with Conservative candidate Lachlan De Nardi well behind in third place with 4,444 votes. PPC candidate Dylan Young was a non-factor in the final vote, gathering in about two per cent of the ballot with 368 votes.
The election will end Ashton’s 13-year time in office and will prevent her from winning her sixth consecutive term in Ottawa. Chartrand will be the first Liberal MP to represent the region since Tina Keeper lost the seat to Ashton in 2008.
In a speech to a victory party, Chartrand thanked campaign volunteers, her family and northern voters for sending her to Ottawa, saying her victory was a larger win for Indigenous people.
“I don’t know what to say - I’m really overwhelmed. The people of this riding have spoken. We have nearly 80 per cent Indigenous people and we know we need to have major bridge-building in this riding. We need to make sure this riding is the centrepiece as we start re-envisioning the Canadian economy. We’re going to do it right here in the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski riding, because the people have spoken,” she said.
“This isn’t about me - this is about all of us. This is about all of us, moving this forward for every single one of us in the riding. This is about equity and this is about showing them what we can do when you get one of us, an Indigenous woman, at the table,” she said.
On the Manitoba side, both frontrunners appeared in Flin Flon in the campaign’s final weekend. Chartrand arrived in Flin Flon April 25, meeting with Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine and visiting the local branch of the Manitoba Metis Federation. Ashton, who started her campaign with visits to Flin Flon and The Pas last month, arrived in the community a second time over the weekend, visiting the Trade and Leisure Show in Creighton April 26.
Saskatchewan
In Saskatchewan, Belanger ran roughshod over both Conservative candidate Jim Lemaigre and NDP candidate Doug Racine, becoming Saskatchewan’s only Liberal MP. Buckley took almost two-thirds of total votes cast with 5,680 votes, ahead of Lemaigre’s 2,226 and Racine’s 802 with 87 of 88 polls reporting. Belanger is the first Liberal MP to represent northern Saskatchewan since Gary Merasty resigned his post in 2007.
Belanger celebrated the victory at an event in his hometown of Ile-a-la-Crosse, attended by his fellow former northern MLA and supporter Doyle Vermette. Both men served with the Saskatchewan NDP before leaving provincial legislature.
“Thank you Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River! Without your support throughout this campaign and at the polls, this would not have been possible,” read a statement issued by Belanger after he was projected to win the riding late Monday night.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am excited and energized to be the strong voice the north needs in Ottawa.”
Belanger appeared in Creighton April 25, visiting with Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler and Denare Beach Mayor Carl Lentowicz - Belanger was the only candidate running in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River to visit the community.
Nationwide
Nationally, the Liberals won their fourth consecutive federal election and will have first crack at forming government.
“I have a question - who’s ready to stand up for Canada with me? Who’s ready to build Canada strong?” said Carney after the release of the results at the Liberal party's campaign party in Ontario, to a throng of cheers.
As of Tuesday morning, it was still unclear whether the Liberals had won enough seats to reach majority territory. The total seat count showed approximately 168 Liberal seats, 144 for the Conservatives, 23 for the Bloc Quebecois, seven for the NDP and one for the Green Party. The Liberals may fall short of the 172 seats needed for a majority, but can get over that threshold by aligning with either the NDP or Bloc.
Both the federal Conservatives and Liberals gained seats from their showing in the 2021 federal election, at the cost of seats from the Bloc Quebecois and NDP, who tumbled out of official party status after winning just seven seats as of press time.
Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the federal Conservatives, conceded defeat shortly after midnight local time Tuesday, saying that he would stay on as the party’s leader following the loss - as of Tuesday morning, Poilievre was projected to lose his own seat in Ontario to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy, leaving his own future as an MP in doubt.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will not stick around, announcing Monday night he would step down from leading the federal NDP after a disastrous showing for the party, including not only losing his seat but finishing third.
