Tom Mulcair elected for NDP in Outremont

CBC News | Posted: October 20, 2015 2:40 AM | Last Updated: October 20, 2015

Liberal candidate Rachel Bendayan loses to Mulcair after putting up a good fight in central Montreal riding

Image | Tom Mulcair concession speech

Caption: "We ran in this election with the most women and the most indigenous candidates not just in the history of our party, but in the history of Canada," Tom Mulcair said in his concession speech on election night. (CBC)

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NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was able to hold on to his own seat in the Montreal riding of Outremont, but he's reeling from a major loss in a province that was painted orange by his party four years ago.

Going into election night, pollster Éric Grenier had projected the Liberals had a shot at snapping up Outremont.

However, Mulcair came out victorious in the end, beating Liberal candidate Rachel Bendayan by 4,368 votes.

Riding Background

Mulcair first wrested the central Montreal riding from the Liberals in a 2007 by-election with more than 12,000 votes.

Image | FedElxn Liberals 20151002

Caption: Outremont Liberal candidate Rachel Bendayan, centre, with leader Justin Trudeau, far right, and fellow candidates Marc Miller and Marwah Rizgy on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson)

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The Liberals have held the seat almost continuously since 1935, losing only once before: to the Progressive Conservatives in 1988. Mulcair's byelection victory marked the first time the federal NDP had won a seat in Quebec since 1990.

Conservative candidate Rodolphe Husny, who came in third in 2011, is an accountant by trade who works for the Ministry of International Trade.

Candidates 2015

Riding History

Liberal until 2007 byelection — NDP since.
In 2013 redistribution, the NDP took 55.68 per cent of the vote. the Liberals took 21.62 per cent, and the Bloc Québécois took 11.60 per cent.

Riding snapshot

Population: 100,915 (2011 Census)

Mother tongue: French (47.9 per cent), English (16.5 per cent), non-official languages (35.6 per cent; largest linguistic groups are Arabic, Yiddish, Spanish and Portuguese)

Average household income: $90,612 (2011 National Household Survey)

Results last election

NDP 21,916
Liberal 9,204
Conservative 3,408
Bloc Québécois 3,199
Green 841
Rhinoceros 163
Communist 143