Federal Election 2019: Waterloo Region remains red

In Waterloo region, the 2019 federal election was close to a mirror image of the previous one, right down to the fact that the Kitchener-Conestoga riding was heading to the wire.

With that riding yet to be decided well after 2 a.m., the other four ridings returned incumbent Liberal MPs to power who were first elected in 2015.

In the riding of Kitchener-South Hespeler, Marwan Tabarra was expected to face a stiff challenge from Conservative candidate Alan Keeso.

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That challenge failed to materialize as Tabarra bested Keeso by more than 3,000 votes.

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“I’m very humbled,” Tabarra told reporters after his victory speech. “I’m honoured to represent the community of Kitchener-South Hespeler.”

While the Liberals managed to hold onto their seats in the region, the same could not be said across the rest of the country although they still claimed enough to lead a minority government.

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Tabarra says he believes his party will work with the NDP to avoid another election in the near future.

“We have to move forward with policies that will better the lives of all Canadians,” he explained. “Affordability was the number one issue in this campaign.

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“We want to make sure that we alleviate some of those pressures that families are still facing.”

In Kitchener Centre, Liberal MP Raj Saini is also returning to Ottawa.

Saini once again faced off with Conservative candidate Stephen Woodworth, who he had unseated in 2015.

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While Woodworth managed to collect a healthy portion of the vote, he finished third in the polls behind Green Party candidate Mike Morrice, who ran a very active campaign.

Similar to Tabarra, Cambridge’s incumbent MP Bryan May was also expected to be in a close finish with Conservative newcomer Sunny Atwal.

In the end, May bested Atwal by more than 5,000 votes.

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In Waterloo, Bardish Chagger appeared the likeliest sitting MP in the region to retain her seat and that held true.

With 94 per cent of polls reporting, she held a lead of well over 13,000 votes.

Tabarra was excited to work with the Waterloo region Liberal MPs in Ottawa for another term.

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“We’re a tight team,” he noted. “We advocate for the Waterloo Region.

“And again, we try to bring the development and funds to our region and to the riding and to the constituents of Waterloo region.”

*With files from CJOY’s Matt Carty