The longstanding bellwether streak for the federal riding of Peterborough-Kawartha was snapped on Monday night as Conservative candidate Michelle Ferreri earned the riding victory while the Liberals remain in power in Ottawa.
The rookie politician Ferreri topped Liberal incumbent and cabinet minister Maryam Monsef who was seeking re-election for a third straight term following wins in 2015 and 2019. Monsef served the last term as the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development.
In 289 polls, Ferreri received 39 per cent of the vote compared to Monsef’s 35.1 per cent. Ferreri currently runs a social media/marketing company and was a former TV anchor/host with CHEX Television in Peterborough before leaving in 2014 (Global News acquired the station in 2017),
NDP candidate Joy Lachica was a distant third with 19 per cent of the vote followed by Paul Lawton of the People’s Party of Canada (4.4 per cent), Chanté White of the Green Party (2.2 per cent) and independent Robert Bowers (0.32 per cent).
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Ferreri’s victory ends the riding’s bellwether streak for having elected the candidate that has formed the federal government every year since 1965 — with the exception of 1980. Prior to 2015, the riding was known as “Peterborough.”
Of the 289 polls there were 70,055 votes cast (4,626 were mail-in ballots):
- Conservative: Michelle Ferreri, 27,301 votes (39.0 per cent)
- Liberal: Maryam Monsef, 24,564 votes (35.1 per cent)
- NDP: Joy Lachica, 13,335 votes (19 per cent)
- People’s Party of Canada: Paul Lawton, 3,078 votes (4.4 per cent)
- Green Party: Chanté White, 1,551 votes (2.2 per cent)
- Independent: Robert Bowers, 226 votes (0.2 per cent)
In 2019 there were 69,801 votes cast out of 99,635 eligible voters (70 per cent)
The riding consists of the City of Peterborough and municipalities within Peterborough County (excluding Cavan Monaghan Township and Asphodel-Norwood Township) and Curve Lake First Nation.
This riding is home to 118,176 people, including 100,351 voters, according to Elections Canada.
According to the 2016 census, the average age of the Peterborough metropolitan area resident is 44, with nearly 98 per cent speaking English as their first language. The median total income of households in 2015 was $64,777.
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