THUNDER BAY - Marcus Powlowski has secured a third term as MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
With 204 out of 210 polls reporting by 12:20 a.m., Powlowski had nearly 48 per cent of the vote, followed by Conservative candidate Brendan Hyatt, who had about 44 per cent of the vote. The NDP's Yuk-Sem Won was in third with 7 per cent of the vote, followed by the People's Party of Canada's Sabrina Ree and the Green Party's Eric Arner.
Powlowski was first elected in 2019 and then re-elected in 2021. He jumped into politics after a long career as a physician.
"I'm happy and I want to thank the very many people who voted for me," he said shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
He also thanked everyone who worked on his campaign but also expressed gratitude to Liberal leader Mark Carney - and Chrystia Freeland.
"She is the one who kind of forced the issue and forced the leadership review," said Powlowski. "She was a big part of this."
The 65-year-old previously told Newswatch he’s got a great relationship with Carney, whom he believes has the right experiences to take on U.S. President Donald Trump and lead the country back to prosperity.
Trump was top of mind for most voters during this election, said Powlowski Monday evening.
"People are ticked off about Trump and his behaviour and his thinking that somehow the United States is going to take us over and we're going to become the 51st state," he said. "And the reality is that (Conservative leader Pierre) Poilievre is very much a Trump kind of figure."
During the campaign, Powlowski said a couple of his big priorities if re-elected would be ensuring a Toronto Transit Commission streetcar contract is awarded to Thunder Bay’s Alstom plant and a proposed lithium processing factory is built.
Nationally, he said the lack of health care in rural communities and the shortage of family doctors across the expansive Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding are also priorities.
With a minority government likely, Powlowski said the battle is not over.
"But you know what? We aren't giving up on this battle," he said.
Hyatt said despite the results of the election, he was optimistic.
"We didn't get the result we wanted, but we've come a long way as a Conservative riding," he said. "I think we can only go up from here."
On the NDP's results, Won said she wasn't feeling defeated.
"I'm just empowered to be real, to keep on getting out there and tomorrow, wake up and we'll start it all over again," she said.
- With files from Olivia Browning and Clint Fleury
