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The Latest: Election night in Canada

Oct 23, 2019 | 9:07 PM

OTTAWA — The latest developments on federal election night, Oct. 21, 2019. All times are Eastern Time:

1:45 a.m.

Green Leader Elizabeth May says her party will go to Parliament to ensure the Liberal minority government takes real action on climate change before the window of opportunity closes.

She vows to hold Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to account on his climate promises.

She says the Greens elected to the House of Commons won’t allow the Parliament of Canada to let down the nation’s children.

She notes that her party has tripled its seat total from the 2015 election, when May was the lone Green elected in the country.

In between, the party won a byelection in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, which Green candidate Paul Manly held, now Jenica Atwin has won the New Brunswick riding of Fredericton in Monday’s vote.

May says her three-member caucus will go to Ottawa with a sense of duty and deep ethics, knowing they can make a contribution with a minority government, “and we will.”

 

1:30 a.m.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says the re-elected Liberal government will always put the country and its people at the heart of every decision.

Speaking to supporters in Montreal, Trudeau says Canadians voted for a progressive agenda and strong action on climate change, and is promising to deliver on that.

He also delivers a message to voters who didn’t back the Liberals, promising to govern on behalf of all Canadians, including Albertans — who didn’t elect a single Liberal MP.

The Liberals won 156 seats, as of early Tuesday, with just under 33 per cent of the popular vote, with the Conservatives as the Opposition with 122 seats but 34.5 per cent of the popular vote.

Speaking in Regina, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he congratulated Trudeau in a phone call.

Scheer tells supporters that the strength of Canada’s democracy is not only measured by the ballots Canadians cast, but also how the country moves forward after they are counted.

But he says the election results show Conservatives have put Trudeau on notice that the Tories are ready to govern when the Liberal government falls.

 

1:05 a.m.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is vowing his party will play a constructive role in the new Parliament that Canadians have chosen, saying he delivered the message to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in a phone call tonight.

In a speech that touches on many of the issues and promises he raised during the 40-day campaign, Singh also talks about Grassy Narrows First Nations as an example of the work the federal government still must do on Indigenous issues.

His party has won 25 seats in the election, fewer than the 39 they had going into the election and falling to fourth place in the House of Commons behind the Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois.

Singh says the results were not what the party wanted in Quebec, with the NDP keeping only one seat in the province, but Singh promises not to abandon the province or its people.

He says no matter what, the real winner in this election “will be the people.”

U.S. President Donald Trump is also tweeting his congratulations to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on a “wonderful and hard fought victory.”

He goes on to write that “Canada is well served” and he looks forward to working with Trudeau on “the betterment of both our countries.”

Meanwhile, former Liberal cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is projected to be re-elected in Vancouver Granville, making her the lone Independent in the House of Commons.

 

12:20 a.m.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says his party is doing well and is full of life, having had a successful campaign all around.

He says his party has come a long way, but will go even further.

The Bloc, once written off in Quebec after a poor showing in 2015 and internal dissent that nearly threatened the party’s future, has captured 32 seats.

The showing makes the Bloc a potential power broker in a Parliament with a minority government.

Blanchet says the Bloc won’t be a coalition partner in a minority government, but will lend its support if legislation is good for Quebec and the province’s wishes are respected, including on its opposition to pipelines across its territory.

Blanchet says the Bloc will be the voice of the Quebec nation and listen to Quebecers, referring to the province’s popular but controversial secularism law and the possibility of sovereignty.

 

12:05 a.m.

It’s Tuesday morning in much of Canada, but in the West it is still Monday night — and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has won re-election in his B.C. seat.

Singh is projected to be re-elected in Burnaby South, with his party leading or elected in 24 seats, which would be a decline from the 39 seats the party held when Parliament was dissolved for the election campaign.

The electoral map is now coming into closer focus with a Conservative sweep of Saskatchewan, including leader Andrew Scheer’s re-election, and a near sweep in Alberta as part of the 121 ridings they are leading in or have been elected.

The Liberals are leading or have captured 157 seats nationwide, many of them in Ontario, Quebec and in Atlantic Canada.

In B.C., Liberal Terry Beech is projected to hold his Vancouver-area riding of Burnaby North-Seymour where the government’s purchase and support of the Trans Mountain pipeline project was controversial.

The Greens will have three seats in the House of Commons, as Paul Manly is projected to keep his B.C. seat in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

 

11:50 p.m.

The results of the election are beginning to ripple through various election-night events, as winners and runners-up address their crowds — while others celebrate.

Longtime Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale is thanking his supporters and volunteers for everything over his last 26 years in politics, adding that any one campaign is temporary with challenges and opportunities.

At Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s election party, party supporters are belting out “Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye” as Goodale gives his farewell speech.

In Toronto, Liberal cabinet minister Kirsty Duncan says she’s honoured to continue to serve her riding of Etobicoke North, calling her supporters more like family than constituents.

A slew of other Liberal cabinet ministers are also joining her back in the Commons: Joyce Murray, Harjit Sajjan and Carla Qualtrough.

One of their former cabinetmates, Jody Wilson-Raybould, has pulled ahead ever-so-slightly in Vancouver Granville, but with the majority of polls yet to report.

 

11:35 p.m.

Elizabeth May has romped to victory in her B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands.

Her return to the House of Commons gives the Greens two seats, and a shot at retaining one more on Vancouver Island once the votes are all counted.

But former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott is projected to lose her seat in Markham-Stouffville to Liberal Helena Jaczek.

Philpott looked to hold the seat as an Independent after she was turfed from the Liberal caucus following her resignation from cabinet and public criticism of Justin Trudeau over the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

The other key cabinet player in the affair, former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, is in a tight three-way race in her Vancouver riding.

The Canadian Press also projects that Liberal cabinet minister Jean-Yves Duclos will be re-elected in his Quebec City riding.

 

11:15 p.m.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is getting back more of his trusted cabinet ministers but losing a key member of his government.

The Canadian Press projects that Chrystia Freeland will be re-elected in her Toronto riding of University-Rosedale, Bill Morneau in Toronto Centre, and Marc Garneau in the Montreal riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount.

But The Canadian Press also projects that Ralph Goodale, a stalwart of the Liberal party who held cabinet posts under three prime ministers, will not win re-election in his Saskatchewan riding, losing to Conservative Michael Kram.

The Liberals also look as though they have been completely shut out of Alberta, with all but one riding going to the Conservatives.

Heather McPherson will likely hold Edmonton Strathcona for the New Democrats.

Results in Quebec, which continue to pour in, suggest that Alexandre Boulerice will be the only New Democrat left standing in the province.

In the Quebec riding of Beauce, Maxime Bernier is telling supporters that what his upstart People’s Party of Canada was able to achieve in one year was spectacular, and only the beginning of his political movement.

 

11 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier has lost his seat in Beauce, the only one his upstart party had going into the election.

Bernier had handily won the riding in 2015 and had held the seat since 2006, but split from the Conservatives after losing the party leadership to Andrew Scheer.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, on the other hand, is going back to House of Commons after handily winning his home riding of Papineau.

The Canadian Press is also projecting Liberal cabinet ministers Navdeep Bains to win in his Toronto-area riding, Patty Hajdu in Thunder Bay, Catherine McKenna in Ottawa and Maryam Monsef in Peterborough.

The Liberals are leading or elected in 147 seats, the Conservatives in 118, the Bloc in 36, New Democrats in 25 and the Greens in three.

The Canadian Press also projects that Liberal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi will lose his Edmonton seat to former Conservative MP Tim Uppal, while one-time Liberal cabinet minister Kent Hehr will lose his Calgary seat.

And The Canadian Press projects that Adam van Koeverden will be elected in the Ontario riding of Milton, defeating longtime Conservative MP Lisa Raitt.

Meanwhile, in Burnaby, B.C., the mood is sombre among supporters entering the ballroom at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s election night party, where campaign staffers — hoping for a bigger breakthrough — are anxiously looking at TV screens and their smartphones.

 

10:30 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that the Liberal party will win the most seats in the 2019 federal election, giving them the best chance to form the next government.

The magic number for a majority is 170 in the 338-seat House of Commons, and early results with all polls closed have the Liberals leading or elected in 147 seats.

The Conservatives are at 100, the Bloc at 33, the NDP at 19 and the Greens at one, but numbers will continue to swing as results roll in.

Liberal cabinet minister Bill Blair is being projected to win his Toronto riding, while party stalwart Ralph Goodale is leading in Regina—Wascana.

But cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, who won his Edmonton riding by the slimmest of margins in 2015, is currently losing to his Conservative rival, Tim Uppal, a former Harper-era cabinet minister.

And in the Ontario riding of Milton, former Olympian Adam van Koeverden is leading Conservative Lisa Raitt, another Harper-era cabinet minister. 

The Canadian Press is also calling Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet as elected.

Meanwhile, cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc — also victorious tonight in his New Brunswick riding — has released a statement saying he is in hospital in Montreal to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

 

10:10 p.m.

Six Conservatives are heading back to the House of Commons as results begin to pour in from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Luc Berthold is projected to win Megantic-L’Erable in Quebec, Diane Finley will return to represent Haldimand-Norfolk in Ontario, Candice Bergen in the Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar, and James Bezan in the Saskatchewan riding of Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman.

In Alberta, Glen Motz is projected to win in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner, and John Barlow in Foothills.

The Canadian Press also projects that Pat Finnigan will win the New Brunswick riding of Miramichi-Grand Lake, and Eric Duncan has won the Ontario riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry to keep the riding Conservative.

Meanwhile, things have turned sour for People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier, who has fallen behind Conservative Richard Lehoux by less than 200 votes.

All polls have now closed across the country with early results showing the Liberals leading or elected in 118 ridings, Conservatives in 88, the Bloc Quebecois in 18, the NDP in 10 and the Greens in two.

 

9:45 p.m.

Polls are now closed in Ontario and Quebec, and the Bloc Quebecois has its first win of the night.

The Canadian Press projects that Guy Bernatchez has taken Gaspesie-Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine from Liberal cabinet minister Diane Lebouthillier.

The Bloc and its leader Yves-Francois Blanchet are hoping for a resurgence in the province after a poor showing in 2015 and internal dissent that nearly ripped the party apart.

There are still three ridings in Atlantic Canada that remain too close to call, with Liberals leading in two and the Conservatives in one.

Overall, the Liberals are leading or elected in 44 ridings, Conservatives in 12, and New Democrats and the Bloc each have four.

People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier is also in a hard fight for his Quebec riding of Beauce, where Conservative Pierre Lehoux is ahead by more than 200 votes with about two per cent of the vote counted.

 

9:25 p.m.

Green Leader Elizabeth May is arriving at her election night party on the West Coast just in time to see her party’s first win of the night — on the East Coast.

The Canadian Press projects that Green candidate Jenica Atwin will come out on top after a tight three-way race in the New Brunswick riding of Fredericton. The win gives the Greens their first federal victory outside of British Columbia.

Speaking to reporters at her election night party, a smiling Atwin is reflecting on the hard work she had put into the campaign.

Meanwhile, longtime MP Wayne Easter has won in Malpeque, securing a sweep of Prince Edward Island for the Liberals just as the party did in 2015.

Overall, the Liberals are leading or are elected in 24 ridings, the Conservatives in six, and the New Democrats in one.

Polls are set to close shortly in seat-rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and soon after in the rest of Canada.

 

9 p.m.

Another of Justin Trudeau’s cabinet ministers is going back to the House of Commons, and another former Conservative MP will join her.

The Canadian Press projects that Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has won her New Brunswick riding of Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe.

Joining her will be Rene Arseneault, Wayne Long and Andy Fillmore who, respectively, kept the ridings of Saint John-Rothesay and Madawaska-Restigouche in New Brunswick, and Halifax in Nova Scotia painted Liberal red for another election.

But Rob Moore has painted Fundy Royal a Conservative blue, winning back the seat he lost in 2015 to Liberal Alaina Lockhart in a race that was expected to be close.

Meanwhile, the Greens are seeing themselves on the electoral board, leading as the votes are counted in the riding of Fredericton.

Green candidate Jenica Atwin is currently leading a tight three-way race with Conservative Andrea Johnson and Liberal incumbent Matt DeCourcey.

 

8:45 p.m.

The new political makeup of Atlantic Canada is coming into sharper focus: dominated by Liberals, but not as completely as it was after the 2015 election.

The Canadian Press projects Liberal Darrell Samson has won re-election in the Nova Scotia riding of Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, cabinet minister Bernadette Jordan will represent South Shore-St. Margarets again, and Darren Fisher has been re-elected in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour.

The Liberal party has also held on to nearby Kings-Hants, with Kody Blois winning the seat vacated by former cabinet minister Scott Brison, and Cape Breton-Canso, which Mike Kelloway will represent after longtime MP Rodger Cuzner opted to retire.

The Conservatives have also captured another seat, with Chris d’Entremont elected in West Nova.

On the other side of the country, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh appeared happy and upbeat while watching results with supporters and his wife, Gurkiran Kaur, in a Burnaby, B.C., hotel room.

Meanwhile in Montreal, journalists and camera operators rimmed the event space at the convention centre in the city’s old quarter, perched on risers under Liberal-red lights.

A pair of jumbo screens flashed photos — each one speckled with animated stars — of Trudeau on the campaign trail taking selfies with supporters, attending a Yom Kippur ceremony and consulting backstage with his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.

 

8:32 p.m.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is going to get another shot at the job of being referee of all MPs.

The Canadian Press projects that Geoff Regan will hold his seat in Halifax West, while fellow Nova Scotia Liberal Sean Fraser will hold on to Central Nova.

Liberal Serge Cormier has won the New Brunswick riding of Acadie-Bathurst and Liberal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc has won Beausejour, again.

Long-time Liberal Lawrence MacAulay is also going back to the House of Commons, keeping his hold on the riding of Cardigan in Prince Edward Island, while Bobby Morrissey is getting a second term as the Liberal MP for nearby Egmont.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have captured their first seats of the night as The Canadian Press projects Richard Bragdon to win in Tobique-Mactaquac in New Brunswick.

Fellow Tory John Williamson is also going back to the House of Commons as the former MP is going to win in New Brunswick Southwest.

 

8:13 p.m.

The electoral map in Atlantic Canada is seeing a swath of Liberal red over most of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Liberal cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan has recaptured his seat in St. John’s South-Mount Pearl.

Long-time Liberal Lawrence MacAulay appears set to hold his riding of Cardigan, as Liberals lead in all four seats on Prince Edward Island.

The Canadian Press projects that New Democrat Jack Harris has recaptured the seat he lost to Nick Whalen in 2015 in St. John’s East.

Liberal candidates are leading in most of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Overall, with many votes still to be counted in the region, Liberals are elected or leading in 24 ridings, Conservatives have five, and the NDP have the one seat.

 

7:55 p.m.

The Liberals have captured their first seats of the night in Atlantic Canada.

The Canadian Press projects Scott Simms has won re-election in the Newfoundland riding of Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame and Gudie Hutchings has held Long Range Mountains.

Churence Rogers is also being declared the victor in the Newfoundland riding of Bonavista-Burin-Trinity, giving the Liberals three seats to start the night.

The Liberals are leading in eight more ridings, while the Conservatives are leading in two New Brunswick ridings.

New Democrat Jack Harris, a former MP, is leading incumbent Nick Whalen in St. John’s East.

Polls remain open in central and western Canada, meaning that parties will savour early victories, but know there is still more nail-biting ahead.

 

7:30 p.m.

Polls have closed in Atlantic Canada and could provide an early glimpse of how the vote will play out.

The Liberals swept the region in the 2015 election but are expected to lose some of those seats tonight.

Polls closed about 30 minutes ago in Newfoundland and Labrador, marking the start of what promises to be a long night to determine whether Justin Trudeau’s Liberals will get a second mandate to govern Canada.

So far, results show that the Liberals are leading in six of the country’s 338 ridings with early counting underway.

Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer voted in their respective ridings on Monday.

With polls suggesting a close race between the two, each party will be watching whether they can hit the number 170 — the number of seats required to earn a majority government.

The Canadian Press