Friday September 24, 2021 | NANAIMO, BC [Updated September 25, 2021]
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Final count, including mail-in ballot (source: NDP / Elections Canada):
| Party | Candidate | Count Prior | Mail-in Count | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDP-New Democratic Party | Lisa Marie Barron | 18,051 | 1,845 | 19,896 |
| Conservatives | Tamara Kronis | 17,050 | 1,565 | 18,615 |
| Green | Paul Manly | 15,313 | 2,327 | 17,640 |
| Liberals | Michelle Corfield | 8,327 | 1,013 | 9,340 |
| PPC | Stephen Welton | 3,204 | 181 | 3,385 |
| Rejected | unknown | 83 | 68,876 |
On this Friday evening, Lisa Marie Barron accepted congratulations from a few island media during a Zoom call, now that Elections Canada results show her as the MP-elect in Nanaimo-Ladysmith. Following that, she got a lot of congratulations from party-faithful on Twitter.
Her winning tally was 18,051 votes as the NDP candidate (before the mail-in count), which was just 1,001 votes ahead of the Conservative candidate.
The other candidates ran strong and that they shared their opinions and ideas throughout the campaign.
On the verge of much that is new:
“It’s so fresh, you’re catching me still processing,” said Barron as she accepted some on-Zoom congratulations. “I’m excited and grateful,” said Barron, who has been waiting all week for the final mail-in ballot count.
Barron thanks the voters and all of their patience in waiting for the results to come. “People are refreshing their screens awaiting results,” she reports.
Along the way… family, children and friends… the supports were really strong.
Looking forward to getting to work, and started in parliament in the next couple of weeks.
Heading to Ottawa soon:
During the short 36-week 44th federal election campaign, NDP candidate Lisa Marie Barron in Nanaimo-Ladysmith has quickly become a bit of a rock star for the NDP, pitted against the well-known and two-time (2018 by-election, 2019) Green winner Paul Manly for this 2021 election.
Now as the MP-elect, she talks about fighting for people and the environment in Ottawa, and says she will “put reconciliation in front of every decision”.
She heard a lot about affordability on the campaign trail, as well as local impacts of the climate crisis. The need for a living wage as well as supports for small and medium-size businesses came up a lot too.
Lifestyle changes:
Barron will be quitting her job in addiction support where she helps youth and families who are struggling with substance use. “I’m going into a great new journey in my career, and will be carrying those experiences with me into my new role.”
She says there are “options” regarding her current position as a trustee though she’s “not sure what that will look like yet”. Though it sounds like perhaps a by-election coming up in Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools SD68 where she is one of nine elected trustees, “so that students and families will still have strong voices as the board table”.
“I’ve had a strong family support network around me every step of the way,” says Barron, who adds excitedly that her 18-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son are “pretty proud of their mom”.
Also on her busy plate is Barron’s completion of her Masters degree in Community Development at the University of Victoria. She is currently on leave from that undertaking. “When the time is right” she says will complete it, with all the course content completed and just one project yet to go.
The party darling?
By a stroke of fate, Barron is the one who has restored the longstanding Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding to the NDP. That very fact brings the NDP seat count to six out of seven on Vancouver Island. The seventh island seat is held once again by now-four-term MP-elect Elizabeth May in Saanich-Gulf Islands.
Does that make Narron a bit of a favoured force in the 25-person NDP caucus that heads to Ottawa soon?
She’s not sure about that level of things, but says there “is a lot we can do on the island”. She says she’s had a lot of support from the party and other island candidates “supporting her every step of the way” and she’s “looking forward to working alongside Jagmeet”.
Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding profile:
The final count for Nanaimo-Ladysmith (except for mail-in ballot count, still to come) at 7:45 pm this evening, September 24, 2021, shows 18,051 votes for Barron as the NDP candidates, with 17,050 for Conservative candidate Tamara Kronis, 15,313 for Green Party candidate Paul Manly, 8.327 for the Liberal candidate Michelle Corfield, and 3,204 for the PPC candidate.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentof Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDP-New Democratic Party | Lisa Marie Barron | 18,051 | 29.1 % |
| Liberal | Michelle Corfield | 8,327 | 13.4 % |
| Conservative | Tamara Kronis | 17,050 | 27.5 % |
| Green Party | Paul Manly | 15,313 | 24.7 % |
| People’s Party – PPC | Stephen Welton | 3,204 | 5.2 % |
| Total number of valid votes: | 61,945 |
That’s with 264 of 265 (99.62%) polls reporting. The voter turnout was 61,945 of 107,926 registered electors (57.4 %) which does not include electors who registered on election day. The riding population is 122,710 with the number of electors on list as 107,926.
National election results:
Nationally, Elections Canada shows that 62.09% of eligible voters cast a ballot on September 20 (and in advance polls) — that’s 16,991,074 of 27,366,297 registered electors (before all mail-in ballot numbers are fully counted).
Election results have not been fully known across the country all of this week, due to the large volume of mail-in ballots (a popular voter choice during the ongoing COVID pandemic).
Nationally, the final count of the 338 seats for the 44th parliament shifted a bit yesterday (as more mail-in ballots were counted), giving the Liberals one more seat and the Bloc dropping by one. Currently: Liberal 159, Conservative 119, B.Q. 33, NDP 25, Green 2.
===== RELATED:
NDP fingers crossed for a final-count win in Nanaimo-Ladysmith (Sept 24, 2021)
Lisa Marie Barron poised to win back Nanaimo-Ladysmith for the NDP (Sept 23, 2021)
Lisa Marie Barron: up against Green incumbent (Sept 20, 2021)
Day 11: Orange Island wave (Aug 25, 2021)
