The Liberal Party of Canada has won a fourth consecutive term in the 2025 federal election, while Conservative incumbent Branden Leslie retained his Portage-Lisgar seat with a commanding majority. He secure a return to Ottawa and the House of Commons with more than 69% of the popular vote in the electoral district, with over than 21,000 votes more than Robert Kreis who came in second.
Conservative stronghold endures
Leslie, first elected in a June 2023 by-election, called the win “an incredibly humbling experience” during his victory speech. He thanked voters for their trust and vowed to advocate for rural communities, farmers, firearms owners and small businesses.
“It’s been a whirlwind experience and I think I’m even more humbled by the tremendous response and support that we’ve received locally.”
Minority or Majority still to be determined
Meanwhile, Elections Canada says it has decided to pause counting of special ballots until Tuesday morning.
A handful of ridings remain too close to call and the move means Canadians won't know until later in the day whether Mark Carney's Liberals have won a minority or majority mandate. Special ballots are cast by mail or at Elections Canada offices by voters who are away from their ridings during the election.
The counting is to resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
One of the close ridings was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's. He was was trailing his Liberal rival in the Ottawa riding of Carleton.
Priorities and policy clashes
Leslie criticized the Liberal government for adopting Conservative policies during the campaign and pledged to push for their implementation. He framed his re-election as a mandate to uphold what he called “the promise of Canada” — the idea that hard work and fairness should guarantee a decent quality of life.
“If you work hard, you play by the rules, you pay your taxes, you can get ahead. You can have a decent quality of life.”
The MP added that his Conservative caucus would hold the minority government to account, stating, “I’m going to do my level best, and I know our Conservative team will too, every single day in Ottawa.”
