[ad_1]
Liberal Karen McCrimmon has won the provincial byelection in Kanata–Carleton to replace former Progressive Conservative MPP Merrilee Fullerton, according to unofficial results posted Thursday evening.
Six candidates vied for the spot vacated in March when Fullerton abruptly resigned both her seat and post as minister of children, community and social services.
With all polls reporting, McCrimmon got 11,066 votes, or about 34 per cent of the vote share, to defeat the second-place Progressive Conservative candidate Sean Webster, who got 10,415 votes or about 32 per cent.
NDP candidate Melissa Coenraad finished third with 9,560 votes, or about 29 per cent of the vote share.
McCrimmon represented Kanata–Carleton at the federal level from 2015-21, and then decided not to run again.
The former two-term MP did not seek re-election in 2021 due to minor health issues and other family matters, she previously told CBC News. Now in provincial politics, she said she’s hoping to help reduce the shortage of family doctors in the province.
McCrimmon was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and served as senior staff officer at the NATO Air Headquarters. In 2004, she did a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
In the 2022 provincial election, the riding elected Fullerton for the Progressive Conservatives with more than 43 per cent of the vote. In 2022, the Liberal candidate received about 24 per cent and the NDP received about 23 per cent.
Kanata–Carleton has a population of 110,965 and was home to 88,936 registered voters in the 2022 election.
The provincial riding in rural west Ottawa and the suburb of Kanata has been redrawn and renamed over the years, but regardless of its precise boundaries, it has been retained by the PCs in an unbroken streak lasting decades.
According to unofficial results posted Thursday evening, voter turnout was about 35 per cent.
Official results and voter turnout will be available from Elections Ontario after they’re certified by a provincial election clerk.
[ad_2]
