Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has lost his Carleton seat similarly to the way his party lost Canada’s 45th federal election — by a slim margin.
Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy is narrowly expected to emerge victorious in Carleton, winning 50.6 per cent of the vote at the time of this article’s publication. Poilievre followed closely behind in second place, with 46.1 per cent of the vote.
Poilievre had held the Carleton riding as a Member of Parliament since he was first elected in 2004.
Despite losing his seat, Poilievre told Canadians that the fight was far from over. He strongly implied that he would remain the party’s leader.
The same could not be said for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who resigned after losing his seat as his party is likely to lose official party status — falling below the 12-seat threshold to maintain it.
Poilievre delivered a message to Canadians as he conceded the election.
“The promise that was made to me and to all of you is that anybody from anywhere could achieve anything. That through hard work, you could get a great life. You could have a nice affordable home on a safe street,” said Poilievre. “My purpose in politics is, and will continue to be, to restore that promise.”
He added that it would remain an honour to fight for the Conservative party and its supporters going forward.
Despite losing the election, Poilievre said the night was cause for celebration, as the Conservatives gained over 20 seats and received the highest share of the vote the party had received since 1988.
“We denied the NDP and Liberals enough seats to form a coalition government,” said Poilievre.
He said that change was needed, but that it takes time and work. Still, Poilievre said he would learn lessons from tonight’s loss to ensure a better result in the next election.
Some boos were heard from the crowd when Poilievre congratulated Mark Carney on forming a minority government. However, Poilievre dissuaded attendees from booing and assured them that the future would hold plenty of opportunities for debate and disagreement.
Poilievre said the Conservatives would work with the prime minister and all parties to negotiate a new trade deal and defend Canada’s interests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.