Liberal incumbent Mark Gerretsen cruised to a fourth straight victory in Kingston and the Islands, returning to Ottawa as part of Prime Minister Carney’s newly minted minority government.
In the April 28 federal election, Daria Juudi-Hope followed with just under 3,500 votes, while Green candidate Fintan Hartnett trailed with nearly a thousand.
The Liberals have held Kingston and the Islands since the late 1980s, with Gerretsen serving as the riding’s MP since 2015 after a four year stint as mayor. He’ll re the House of Commons alongside 167 other Liberal MPs. The Liberals fell four seats shy of forming a majority government, with the Conservatives set to remain the Official Opposition, leading in 144 ridings.
At Kingston’s DoubleTree Hotel, over 50 of Gerretsen’s ers gathered to watch the results roll in. After his re-election was confirmed, Gerretsen entered the room alongside his wife and two children, delivering a speech of gratitude to all who contributed to his campaign.
“What we learned today, ladies and gentlemen, is that the Canadian electorate has decided the best party, the best prime minister to deal with the threats from Donald Trump and the attack on our sovereignty, is the Liberal Party of Canada led by Mark Carney,” Gerretsen said in his victory speech.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Ottawa to continue doing that [advancing the best interests of Canadians] on behalf of all the people in Kingston and the Islands,” he added.
In a follow-up interview with The Journal, Gerretsen reflected on the tone of this campaign compared to previous ones.
“I don’t think I’ve had the door slammed in my face as many times as I did this time, but it says something,” he said. During the campaign, Gerretsen was caught on a doorbell camera exchanging brief insults with a resident who accused him of being against gun owners and called him “pathetic.” Gerretsen, who appeared to respond with “You’re pathetic,” later said he regretted the exchange.
“It says something about the mood of Canadians and where people are, and in particular, some people don’t feel as though they’re being properly taken care of. So, I think the job we have to do now is to make sure we reach out to those people in particular and figure out what we can do to make their lives better,” Gerretsen said.
Gerretsen laid down his top priorities for his first 100 days back in office, including opposing the use of the Kingston Penitentiary site—recently added to the Canada Public Land Bank—for housing development, and advocating for the timely replacement of the LaSalle Causeway bridge.
“I won’t forget those voters that chose to put their faith in and are expecting me to represent the progressive values of this riding in Ottawa,” Gerretsen said in his closing speech. “I will do that, and I look forward to continuing to be the voice of people for the Kingston and the Islands.”
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