Election night was not only a late one for candidates, their supporters and voters, but for the many election workers dedicated to keeping things running smoothly.
In Algonquin-Renfrew-Pembroke (ARP), incumbent Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant retained her seat while federally, the Liberals won their fourth straight government.
Breakdown of votes is as follows:
- Gallant 37,370 (55.7%)
- Cyndi Mills, Liberal 25,338 (37.8%)
- Eileen Jones-Whyte, NDP 2,468 (3.7%)
- Randy Briand, United Party 907 (1.4%)
- Danilo Velasquez, Green Party 619 (0.9%)
- Seth Malina, Independent 229 (0.3%)
- Stefan Klietsch 121 (0.2%).
Voter turnout in the riding was 72.48 per cent (67,052 of 92,517 registered voters cast ballots – not counting those who registered on election day), up from 2021’s 63 per cent. Federally, 68.7 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.
Returning officer Dean Sauriol was encouraged by the number.
“The turnout was terrific,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I think it went well, we’re satisfied with the turnout and it went off with very few hiccups,” he said.
There will be a review and feedback to provide back to Elections Canada.
One thing that stands out to Sauriol is that there were fairly lengthy lineups at advance polls, something he attributes to the large turnout.
Elections Canada has reported a record 7.3 million people voted early – a 25 per cent jump from 2021. In Algonquin-Renfrew-Pembroke, 23,035 voters cast ballots in advance compared to 19,705 in the last federal election in 2021.
The returning officer praised the many election workers in the riding.
“It’s a big operation to run in a five-week period that wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated staff and everybody committed to helping the process to let everyone exercise their democratic right,” said Sauriol. “I think they all stood up and did their jobs. They should be proud and hold their heads high.”
(Written by Sherry Haaima)