Mark Gerretsen had an easy time winning re-election as Liberal MP for Kingston and the Islands.
Gerretsen took almost 31,000 votes to secure his second term in Ottawa.
New Democrat Barrington Walker finished second, with just shy of 16,000 votes, and Conservative candidate Ruslan Yakoviychuk was third with a little less than 13,000 votes.
“I’m extremely humbled by the people here in Kingston and the Islands for choosing to send me back to Ottawa,” Gerretsen said on Monday night after his victory. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work for them on some of the really important things we spoke about on the campaign.”
However, some things aren’t the same, as Gerretsen will now be a part of a Liberal minority government.
He says it’s clear Canadians want the Liberals to work with other parties to move the country forward.
“It’s time to work with them to ensure we can keep governing on behalf of Canadians,” Gerretsen said.
On Monday evening, after Kingston and the Islands was called for Gerretsen, Walker showed up to shake hands with the Liberal victor and said that despite the NDP losing seats nationally, receiving more than 15,000 votes in Kingston and the Islands pointed to an exciting shift.
“This is a beginning for the NDP here in Kingston in terms of putting forward a true progressive alternative here in the city,” Walker said.
With the election over, Gerretsen says affordable housing is top priority for him.
“I’m absolutely committed to working with city council and their strategic plan to get more affordable housing built in Kingston,” said Gerretsen.
The returning MP says he’ll be sworn in in Ottawa in the coming weeks and plans to start working on filling campaign promises on housing, pharmacare and environmental issues right away.