Liberals in Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry reflected the national trend in backing Mark Carney as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Carney won the leadership race receiving 85.9 per cent of votes nationwide, a result mirrored in SDG, where he earned 84.78 per cent of the 381 votes cast.
Riding Association President Denis Sabourin expressed satisfaction with both the voter turnout and Carney’s decisive win. “I’m pleased with the level of participation and the result,” he said. He noted that this was the first time the party used a ranked ballot format rather than a delegate-based convention.
Sabourin admitted that the margin of victory exceeded his expectations. “I thought it was going to be in the low 70s, around 72%, with Chrystia (Freeland) getting about 20% and the others splitting the rest,” he said. “I was surprised it was such an overwhelming majority — more than Pierre Poilievre had when he won his leadership race.”
Sabourin believes Carney’s credentials played a key role in his victory. “He has dealt with major economic crises before,” he said, pointing to Carney’s experience navigating the 2008 recession as Governor of the Bank of Canada and assisting the UK during Brexit. “Voters want stability and an experienced leader who can handle crises.”
Heather Megill, the 2019 Liberal candidate in SDG, also praised Carney’s leadership qualities. “He is a well-educated and experienced national and international economist,” she said. “During the Liberal debate, I noticed how he took notes when other candidates spoke. He’s a team player who values collaboration.”
In SDG, Carney received 323 votes. Freeland followed with 38 votes (9.97%), while Karina Gould earned 13 votes (3.41%), and Frank Baylis received seven votes (1.84%). Nationally, Carney dominated the race with over 343,000 votes, accounting for 85.9% of the total, while Freeland secured around 32,000 votes (8%), Gould obtained about 18,400 votes (4.6%), and Baylis received approximately 6,000 votes (1.5%).
