New Democratic Party candidate Mario Leclerc finished third in the federal election in Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, earning 1,653 votes, or 2.5 per cent of all votes cast.
The NDP saw its total plummet from the 5,804 votes (11%) Trevor Kennedy received in the Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry in 2021.
Federally, the election was devastating for the NDP. The party lost its official party status in the House of Commons after winning only seven seats, and leader Jagmeet Singh resigned following the loss of his own seat in Burnaby Central, also finishing in a distant third.
“I have called Eric Duncan to congratulate him and wish him the best of luck in his new mandate,” Leclerc said. “From the get-go, I knew this campaign would be unlike any other.”
Despite the national challenges, Leclerc said he remained proud of his local effort. “It is always an honour for me to represent the New Democrats’ voice in SDG. I just want to say that I’m proud of our campaign,” he said. “Big thank you to everyone who trusted me with their vote. Our work is not over.”
Green Party candidate Gordon Kubanek managed 672 votes while Libertarian Karl Ivan MacKinnon received 270.
Voter turnout was 68.47 per cent, with 66,354 of 96,911 eligible voters going to the polls.
