The Liberals sweep the four West Island ridings — again
Canadian Politics
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The West Island has gone all red once again.
All four Liberal incumbents had dominant wins in the west of the island of Montreal, traditionally a place that supports the Liberals, both federally and provincially.
'I think fundamentally western Montreal, the West Island, has a deep connection to Liberal values that includes bilingualism and respect for minority rights,' said Francis Scarpaleggia, who was elected for an eighth consecutive time as MP for Lac-Saint-Louis, which includes Senneville, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Baie-D'Urfé, Kirkland, Beaconsfield, the western part of Pierrefonds and Pointe-Claire. 'The fact those values are so strong in the West Island is because we're made up of minorities here, whether it's English Montrealers or francophones in a majority English city. And the Liberal party is sensitive to those issues. Those issues are in the DNA of the West Island. We're attuned to harmony amongst different groups.'
The other Liberal winners in the west were Anju Dhillon in Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle, Sameer Zuberi in Pierrefonds-Dollard and Emmanuella Lambropoulos in Saint-Laurent.
Scarpaleggia received 63 per cent of the vote in Lac-Saint-Louis. The closest contender in the riding was the Conservative candidate Matthew Rusniak, who garnered 27 per cent of the vote. Scarpaleggia has represented the Lac-Saint-Louis riding since 2004 and had won seven consecutive elections prior to Monday's vote. He is the chair of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in the House of Commons.
Scarpaleggia said that voters made it clear they were very concerned with the impact of U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs and his bellicose attitude toward Canada.
'Their number-one concern was the Canada-U.S. relationship, bar none,' said Scarpaleggia. 'It was a concern across the country, which explains the reversal of fortune of our party and the fact that we have an experienced knowledgeable leader at the top of the party. The Trump factor ran through every day of the campaign. He's omnipresent. He makes sure attention is drawn to him on any given day. It's by design that he is such a centre of attention.'
Last fall, the Liberals were trailing way below the Conservatives in polling across the country.
But Scarpaleggia admitted he was disappointed that the Liberals did not manage to make it to a majority government.
'I was hoping we'd get past the 172 (seat) mark because it would provide us with a more firm say on things and now we're back in a minority situation where we'll have to work in a different way with the other parties,' said Scarpaleggia. 'We're used to it. This will be my sixth minority out of eight elections. So we know how to manage a minority.'
In the last federal election, in 2021, Scarpaleggia received 32,477 votes or 56.3 per cent.
Zuberi received 60 per cent of the vote in Pierrefonds-Dollard. Zuberi has been the MP for Pierrefonds-Dollard since 2019. In 2021, he nabbed 29,296 votes or 56 per cent of the vote.
'I'm feeling really confident, I'm happy people have chosen the Liberals to lead, they've shown confidence in Mark Carney, who has a proven track record,' said Zuberi. 'I think Canadians are picking the right leader for our country. Cost of living is a key concern and also what Donald Trump is doing south of the border. These were the main things we were hearing at the doors. We've been working hard throughout the years and residents see that.'
Dhillon garnered 58 per cent of the vote in Dorval-Lachine-Lasalle. Second in that race was the Conservative candidate Alioune Sarr at 22 per cent.
Dhillon has been the MP for Dorval-Lachine-Lasalle since 2015 and had previously won three elections. In 2021, she received 25,233 votes or 52.4 per cent of the vote. She was the first person of South Asian descent to be elected as an MP from the province of Quebec.
Lambropoulos won in Saint-Laurent with 59 per cent of the overall vote. Her closest competitor was Conservative candidate Richard Serour at 28 per cent.
Lambropoulos has been the MP for Saint-Laurent since 2017. In the last election she received 22,056 votes or 59.1 per cent of the vote.
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