SHEDIAC, N.B. — Dominic LeBlanc hasn’t been able to hit the streets throughout this election campaign but support still remained strong for the veteran New Brunswick Liberal MP, who managed to win his way to victory for a seventh straight term on Monday night.
LeBlanc has spent the past month and a half in a hospital in Montreal recovering from a bone marrow transplant instead of making his way around the massive Beausejour riding as he would have in his past campaigns. But he still earned nearly 48 per cent of the votes, besting his closest opponent by more than 10,000 votes.
Although the 51-year-old had been expected to address the crowd via Skype at his election party at his Shediac headquarters Monday night, he issued a statement instead, saying he hopes to be returning to the riding within the next few weeks.
“I would much rather be with you all in Shediac this evening,” he said in the statement. “The good news is, I’m going to have a full recovery, and I look forward to seeing you real soon.”
LeBlanc also thanked the “numerous volunteers who helped me during this election campaign, considering my personal health situation.”
“I also want to thank the other candidates for a well-run campaign that showed respect and compassion towards me.”
LeBlanc announced earlier this year he would be stepping down temporarily from his cabinet post as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Northern Affairs to undergo cancer treatment. The local MP was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
LeBlanc said he feels privileged to have been given a mandate by the voters once again to represent the Beausejour riding in the House of Commons, a seat he has held since 2000.
He thanked the voters for their confidence in electing him for a seventh consecutive mandate.
“I truly appreciate their support and look forward to getting back to work as their MP.”
After the dust settled Monday night, LeBlanc had earned 24,957 votes, Green Party candidate Laura Reinsborough had a strong showing in second place with 14,251 votes, Conservative candidate Vincent Cormier had 9,435 votes, Jean-Marc Belanger of the NDP earned 3,937 votes and Nancy Mercier of the People’s Party of Canada brought in 1,050 votes.
Reinsborough said she was pleased with the Green Party numbers in the riding, pointing out votes for the Greens were up 22 per cent from the last election, one of the best showings for a candidate across Canada.
“This was a huge gain for Beausejour,” she said.
Reinsborough also pointed out she won the student vote by 10 per cent, giving an indication that younger voters are looking toward a more sustainable future.
She believes the more momentum that is being gained each election helps voters see a Green vote in this part of the country is a viable option.
“It’s changing the political landscape . . . and I think it shows that this riding can no longer be taken for granted.”
Reinsborough said while her campaign was certainly bolstered by the Green wins in last year’s provincial election, she pointed out that her team ran a strong, clean grassroots campaign that spoke to the voters.
LeBlanc was one of six Liberals to hold onto ridings in New Brunswick, while the Conservatives managed to grab three and the Greens made history by winning their first New Brunswick seat.
Federally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau managed to hold onto power but will be returning to Ottawa with a minority, instead of the majority government he’s enjoyed over the past four years. The Liberals emerged with 157 seats, 20 fewer then they held at dissolution. The Conservatives gained ground, capturing 121 seats, besting their 2015 election numbers by 26. The Bloc ended the night with 32 seats while the NDP had 24. The Greens grabbed three seats and one Independent was elected.
