Liberal Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has been re-elected in the riding of University-Rosedale.
With 92 out of 207 polls reporting, Global News has declared Freeland the winner of this central Toronto riding with around 50 per cent of votes.
In her speech shortly after being declared winner, Freeland congratulated the candidates who ran against her. She also credited her volunteers for her win.
Addressing her volunteers. she said, “The fact that you guys did such an astonishing job in University-Rosedale made it possible for me to travel across the country and help other candidates.”
Freeland said she spent a chunk of the campaign supporting 39 different candidates in B.C., Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario.
Global News has projected the Liberals will form a minority government as polls were counted on election night. Neither of the front-running parties in this election — the Liberals or Conservatives — are expected to win the 170 seats they’d need for a majority government.
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Freeland’s opponents for the 2019 election included Helen-Claire Tingling from the Conservatives and community legal clinic lawyer Melissa Jean-Baptiste Vajda from the NDP.
With less than half the polls reporting, Tingling came in second place, with around 23 per cent of votes, while Vajda was a close third, with close to 16 per cent of votes.
Freeland was first elected to the riding in 2015, which was the first election for that riding after it was created in 2012 from parts of the Toronto Centre and Trinity-Spadina ridings — both of which are considered Liberal strongholds.
Freeland’s election signs were reported vandalized on election day. The director of Freeland’s riding association, Paul Davis, said his association had witnessed hundreds of instances of vandalism in this election campaign.
The vandalism featured a sticker with the sentence “bought the Trans Mountain pipeline” on a sign, for example, and “fire Freeland” spray-painted on another.
The riding was once held by former Ontario premier Bob Rae.
Freeland, who is a former journalist, bested NDP candidate Jennifer Hollett in the 2015 election.
She served as international trade minister before receiving the Global Affairs portfolio, overseeing several high-profile global trade agreements.
The riding of University-Rosedale encompasses several high-income Toronto neighbourhoods including the Annex, Rosedale, and Yorkville.
— With files by Oriena Vuong, Albert Delitala, Global News staff
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