As results trickled in from across Canada on election night, few ridings were as closely watched as the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, which Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has held for 20 years.
Among the many Canadians staying up late to watch the closely contested riding was Bruce Fanjoy, the Liberal challenger — and now, projected MP-designate.
“It was a long night and an early morning. I didn’t get too much sleep, but we’re still ticking,” Fanjoy told Global News on Tuesday morning.
In 2004, a 25-year-old Poilievre unseated Liberal incumbent David Pratt and won what was then known as the riding of Nepean-Carleton. In 2015, the riding was re-constituted as Carleton and Poilievre continued to hold it for the Tories.
After seven consecutive wins, Poilievre is now projected to have lost the seat to Fanjoy, who brought Carleton back into the Liberal fold.
“The contrast between Pierre Poilievre and me is quite stark. I was here and working hard in all parts of the riding, virtually every day for two years, where he’s been absent,” Fanjoy said.
“I think he took the riding a bit for granted and nobody likes to be taken for granted.”
When Fanjoy decided to run against Poilievre in Carleton two years ago, polls suggested that the Tory leader was on course to win a majority in the House of Commons.
“I knew that someone had to stand up to Pierre. I couldn’t find anyone else, so I did it myself,” he said.
It takes Elections Canada several days to certify the results from ridings across the country. But with 265 out of 266 polls reporting in the riding, preliminary data from Elections Canada on Tuesday shows Fanjoy winning by a margin of just over 3,800 votes.
Fanjoy said the media attention he has received since defeating Poilievre has been “a bit overwhelming,” but he recognizes the historical significance of the win.
“History had an appointment with Carleton,” he said of his win.
Fanjoy said Liberal volunteers and staffers from across the country helped him knock on doors and get his message across to voters.
“We’ve been at this for over two years and I’ve talked to thousands upon thousands of residents in Carleton, so I had a good sense of the mood of the riding.”
During his time canvassing, Fanjoy said one concern stood out above all others for most voters – U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The biggest concern by far is the Donald Trump administration and how they’re treating Canada both economically and threatening all sorts of nonsense,” he said, referring to Trump’s constant threat of forcing Canada to become the 51st American state.
In the end, he said voters in Carleton thought Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won in the neighbouring riding of Nepean, was the best choice to represent Canada in negotiations with Trump.
“They were looking for serious leadership,” he said.