Poilievre's riding loss an outlier in mostly predictable election night in NCR
Winners emphasized the need to protect Canada from threats south of the border
An otherwise predictable election night in Ottawa was overshadowed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's surprising loss to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy in his long-held Carleton riding.
Poilievre's challenge to retain his seat drew considerable attention in the final days of campaigning to the riding, which drew more advance voters than anywhere else in the nation and also attracted the attention of the longest ballot protest.
It was a different story across the electoral boundary in Nepean.
Prime Minister Mark Carney secured the riding for his Liberals by a wide margin, marking the first time the nation's leader has represented a riding in what's currently Ottawa since the 1880s.
"That is Nepean. That is the spirit of Nepean behind me right there," Carney said as he walked past chanting supporters to deliver his acceptance speech.
- Poilievre's Carleton riding had the most advance voting in Canada
- Poilievre and Carney vie for seats in side-by-side ridings
Elsewhere in the National Capital Region, voters largely chose consistency, re-electing high-profile Liberals in party strongholds and renewing mandates for Conservatives in more rural eastern Ontario ridings.
Ministers retain seats
Among the Liberals re-elected in the region are two members of Carney's inaugural cabinet.
Ottawa South MP David McGuinty has represented the area since 2004, but has only been in cabinet for a matter of months.
As public safety minister, he is in charge of Canada-U.S. border measures.
"What a victory!" McGuinty said to start his acceptance speech, framed by white and red balloons, pledging to fight for Canada's sovereignty.
"Obviously the president continues to make comments that are of concern," he told reporters. "But we're going to continue with discipline, and I think with a follow-through that's warranted for Canadians to make sure that we negotiate a good pathway forward for the country. I'll be, I'm sure, seized with that with my colleagues in cabinet."
Gatineau MP and Minister of Jobs and Families Steven MacKinnon also fended off his competition with ease.
So did Hull-Aylmer Liberal MP Greg Fergus, who has been Speaker of the House of Commons since 2023.
Ottawa Centre rematch
One of the most closely watched races in the months leading up to the election, Ottawa Centre was a rematch of provincial rivals.
The NDP's Joel Harden gave up his seat in the Ontario legislature for the chance to replicate a 2018 win against then-MPP Yasir Naqvi.
This time around, though, Liberal incumbent Naqvi gave the knock-out blow.
Standing between signs reading "Never 51" and "Elbows up," Naqvi framed the next term for his supporters.
"This election was very different than any other election we have had in our lifetime. We are right now fighting for our country," he said to raucous cheers. "Our work starts now!"
At his election party, Harden acknowledged that Carney convinced voters he was capable of dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I sure hope that's the case," he said. "I know that progressives in this riding are going to hold him to the promises that he's made on housing, on creating a brand new economy which isn't as reliant on the United States, on dealing with poverty and the huge issue of homelessness and addictions we have in our downtown."
Incumbent Liberal MPs Marie-France Lalonde, Mona Fortier, Anita Vandenbeld and Jenna Sudds were also re-elected.
New faces on Parliament Hill
Elsewhere in the region, Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen will return to represent Kingston and the Islands, as will Conservatives Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Cheryl Gallant, Scott Reid, Michael Barrett, and Eric Duncan.
Duncan told reporters in his riding of Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry he didn't let himself worry through the campaign, despite the Conservatives dropping in the polls after Carney became the Liberal leader.
"You prepare for every scenario," he said. "A week's an eternity in politics, let alone the last couple of months. That's one thing you have to do in your mental state for all this is prepare for anything that can happen."
Some new faces will also be representing eastern Ontario on Parliament Hill.
Bay of Quinte saw Liberal Christopher Malette, a Belleville city councillor and former newspaper journalist, unseat Conservative Ryan Williams in a tight race.
Giovanna Mingarelli, an entrepreneur who has been an advocate for women in politics, is set to retain the newly redrawn Prescott-Russell-Cumberland seat for the Liberals after Francis Drouin opted not to run again.
"I am overjoyed," Mingarelli said at her victory party. "I'm so proud that I'm the first woman elected at either the federal or provincial level at this riding."
Mingarelli also said she will lobby for the return of a minister of official languages in Carney's cabinet.
Corrections
- A previous version of the story had the wrong first name for former local MP Francis Drouin.Apr 29, 2025 11:20 AM EDT
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