Liberals take Kanata-Carleton in byelection after decades of conservative wins

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.

Before McCrimmon's win Thursday night, the riding had been held by conservatives for decades.

With all polls reporting, McCrimmon got 11,066 votes, or about 34 per cent of the vote, to defeat the second-place Progressive Conservative candidate Sean Webster, who got 10,415 votes, or about 32 per cent.

It was a tight race — the Liberal MPP-elect won by 651 votes.

NDP candidate Melissa Coenraad finished third with 9,560 votes, or about 29 per cent of the vote.

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 Ontario.

In an interview with CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Friday, McCrimmon said she was prompted to run by what she called the "quiet dismantling" of Ontario institutions.

"I believe in a very strong public sector; I want strong public health care, strong public education, the preservation of public green spaces, et cetera," she said.

"I think people are worried about what they see. I think they were seeing the same things I was — the dismantling of our public health-care system, and selling it off in bits and pieces. I know that just opens the door. And selling off pieces of our green space and Greenbelt, and the underfunding of education."

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.

Voter turnout about 35 per cent

In the 2022 provincial election, the riding elected Fullerton for the Progressive Conservatives with more than 43 per cent of the vote. The NDP candidate received about 24 per cent and the Liberals received about 23 per cent that year.

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 had 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.