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Winner yet to be declared in race too close to call

Mail-in ballots still being counted in Windsor-tecumseh riding

DALSON CHEN

Irek Kusmierczyk knew the race for Windsor-tecumseh's federal seat was going to be a tight one — but was he ready for it to be razor-thin?

“We expected the result to be very close,” said the incumbent Liberal MP. “That's why we had folks out there at all the polling stations, counting ballots and scrutinizing.”

As polls returned results on Monday night, Kusmierczyk fell behind early, with NDP candidate Cheryl Hardcastle taking the lead.

But the gap was never more than two or three per cent of the votes. Past midnight, with only a handful of polls left to report, Kusmierczyk pulled ahead.

On Tuesday morning, the preliminary results stood at 17,421 votes (31.6 per cent) for Kusmierczyk, 16,920 votes (30.7 per cent) for Hardcastle.

One poll remains to report before a Windsor-tecumseh winner can be declared: Mail-in ballots.

At press time, those mail-in ballots were still being counted. According to Elections Canada, returning officers began verification checks on the ballots on Tuesday morning — a process that could take up to 24 hours.

“Some ridings may not start reporting results for local special ballots until Wednesday,” Elections Canada stated.

The 501-vote difference between Kusmierczyk and Hardcastle on Tuesday morning was even tighter than their contest in 2019, when Kusmierczyk won the seat from Hardcastle by a slim margin of 629 votes.

Kusmierczyk described himself as “grateful beyond words and so proud” of his team for their determination over the course of the campaign.

“We knew from Day 1 of taking office that it was going to take teamwork to have a positive impact here in the community,” Kusmierczyk said.

“It's always going to take teamwork. We've really focused on building partnerships, bringing people together. That's absolutely critical for us to be able to deliver investments and get good policy here.”

A judicial recount is triggered if an electoral district's contest has been decided by a difference of less than one-thousandth of the total votes cast.

As of Tuesday morning, Windsor-tecumseh had a voter turnout of 55,186 — meaning the recount trigger margin is less than 55.

Any elector, including a candidate, can also request a judge to carry out a judicial recount, provided the request is made within four days of the validation of the results, and the request includes an affidavit stating the error that necessitates the recount.

Hardcastle could not be reached on Tuesday for comment.

Other parties had a variety of fortunes in Windsor-tecumseh in this election.

Conservative candidate Kathy Borrelli finished the night with 14,206 votes (25.7 per cent) — a slight decline in support for the Tories in the riding compared to 2019 when the CPC had 15,851 votes (27.8 per cent).

On Tuesday, Borrelli offered thanks on social media to all her volunteers, donors and voters. “I am sincerely humbled by your support,” she wrote.

“Our riding is representative of what makes our nation great. We are hard-working, industrious, proud, multicultural and innovative.”

Windsor-tecumseh has never elected a Conservative MP.

The Green party — represented by Henry Oulevey — had its worst showing in Windsor-tecumseh in decades, with only 663 votes (1.2 per cent). The last time the Greens mustered less than 1,000 votes in the riding was in 2000.

Meanwhile, the hard-right People's Party of Canada, with its new platform of opposing vaccine mandates, saw a significant boost in presence in Windsor-tecumseh: By the end of Monday night, PPC candidate Victor Green had 5,814 votes (10.5 per cent) — up from the PPC'S 1,279 votes (2.2 per cent) in the riding in 2019.

The 44th general election was only the second time the PPC has been on a federal ballot.

Marxist-leninist candidate Laura Chesnik, who has run in almost every federal election in Windsor-tecumseh since 2004, remained a fringe non-factor with 162 votes.

CITY + REGION

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2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://nationalpost.pressreader.com/article/281586653739523

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