Harb Gill projected to win Windsor West, CBC News projects Liberal government

CBC

29-04-2025

Conservative candidate Harb Gill will win the coveted riding of Windsor West, CBC projects. A political newcomer, Gill has flipped the riding from the NDP's Brian Masse, who held it for more than two decades.
Meanwhile, Conservative incumbents Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent—Leamington), Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong) and Chris Lewis (Essex) have been re-elected, CBC News projects.
CBC News is projecting a Liberal government, but the Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore riding is still too close to call.
You can follow national results here.
Canada's automotive capital emerged as a focal point of the 36-day federal campaign because of its proximity to and relationship with the U.S.
Windsor was a popular destination for party leaders, particularly the Liberals' Mark Carney and the NDP's Jagmeet Singh, who bookended their campaigns in the city.
Already, turnout in the region's five federal ridings has been high, with thousands of voters hitting advance polls over the Easter long weekend.
Polls in Ontario closed Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Windsor West
Gill's team and supporters celebrated at a local banquet hall as he was projected to win the Windsor West seat, one of the most closely watched this election.
"Oh my god, this is one of the greatest nights," said Al Teshuba, who worked on Gill's campaign.
"We knew that Brian Masse was beatable, we knew that the border town of Windsor deserved a Conservative for the right border, trade, economy."
Windsor West has long been an NDP stronghold, with Masse holding it since 2002. But the riding was flipped by Gill, a former police officer, who was projected to win with roughly 40 per cent of the vote share and nearly all 231 polls reporting.
"I think our message was of hope matched with action which is going to bring results," Gill said. "That is what resonated with the voters."
He said "affordability, crime, opioid awareness" are among his priorities for when he gets to Ottawa. He also thanked fellow candidates Richard Pollock, who ran for the Liberals, and Masse.
"They are great people," Gill said. "Anybody who steps up to public service, I've done 30 years of public service, I know the sacrifices you have to make, and so did they."
In a concession speech, Masse told supporters he is without regrets.
"It's not the result that we wanted, and I thought about this a lot before even coming here," Masse said.
"I am super proud and grateful for all of you here today, because I still believe in positive politics," he said. "I don't for once think that the future of this country is about remaining hidden or doing things not up front, because what we need to do is still provide hope and opportunity, and not the negativity that we see sometimes during politics."
Here's what voters in the riding told CBC Windsor they were looking for from candidates.
Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore
Election Day in the newly redrawn Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore riding got off to a fiery start after a blaze erupted on the roof of the WFCU Centre, one of the riding's polling stations. Voters were redirected to St. Joseph's Catholic High School.
The riding made national headlines early on in the race when the Conservatives removed candidate Mark McKenzie over comments he made on a podcast in 2022. The party replaced McKenzie with Kathy Borrelli, who ran in the riding unsuccessfully in the last federal election.
The Liberals' Irek Kusmierczyk has held the seat since 2019, and the NDP's candidate is Alex Ilijoski, an ambulance communications officer.
Kusmierczyk and Borrelli were locked in a tight race with 280 of 282 polls reporting after 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Ilijoski, trailing in a distant third, told CBC Windsor that at voters' doors, "the number one issue for the vast majority of people was Trump and the tariffs […] especially for our riding being a border city."
"The vast majority of Canadians do not want us to become part of the United States and this election is basically a show of that," he said.
Essex
Chris Lewis, who has held the riding since 2019, has been re-elected, CBC News projects.
In his victory speech, Lewis thanked voters, as well as his family and team, for their support. "It means the world to me," he said.
He also praised Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying he "has worked tirelessly."
"He cares about our region," Lewis said. "I'm proud of him, I stand firmly behind him, and I'm just excited to get to work."
Essex is a largely rural riding that includes several municipalities and saw the third highest turnout in advance voting nationwide.
A Liberal stronghold from the 1970s to the early 2000s, the riding has voted mostly Conservative since. Lewis faced a challenge from Liberal candidate Chris Sutton, a farmer and millwright, and the NDP's Lori Wightman.
Chatham-Kent—Leamington
CBC News projects that incumbent Dave Epp will be headed back to Parliament. In an interview with CBC Windsor, Epp said it was "truly humbling to be given the trust" of constituents once again.
"What I heard at the doors are the issues that we've heard for several years," he said. "The cost of food, cost of living, cost of housing, and certainly with the threat of tariffs, and the uncertainty, the precarity that brings to employment, the concerns that Canada's been facing over the last couple of years are just exacerbated."
Agriculture and automotive are important employers in this riding, which the Conservatives have held since 2006.
Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong
Marilyn Gladu, who has held the riding since 2015, has also been re-elected, CBC News projects.
Once a bellwether riding, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong was expanded and renamed ahead of this election to include Walpole Island First Nation.
"This is a great victory, certainly hard fought. We had doubled the size of the riding and added 20,000 people," Gladu told CBC Windsor.
"I will definitely be a strong voice to get dollars from the federal government back to our riding to support the things we need to do here as a cross border community."
"Even for those who didn't vote for me, I'm here for you," she added.
George Vandenberg was the local Liberal candidate, while Lo-Anne Chan was running for the NDP.