Liberal Party supporters react at an election night event for party leader Mark Carney in Ottawa on April 28.Andrej Ivanov/Getty Images
The Liberals lost 19 seats in Monday’s election, which normally would make it very difficult to form government. But significant gains in Quebec and against the NDP elsewhere made all the difference.
Canadians woke up to find that 60 ridings had changed hands, with most of those flips taking place in Ontario. The province saw 23 ridings dump their incumbent parties, followed by 13 flips in British Columbia, 13 in Quebec, eight in the Prairies and three in Atlantic Canada.
Although the Liberals lost 18 seats to the Conservatives – 14 of them in Ontario – they made up for those losses elsewhere. The Liberals took 11 seats from the Bloc Québécois and another 11 from the Conservatives, including four in Ontario and two in Nova Scotia.
The NDP lost 17 seats overall – 10 to the Conservatives and seven to the Liberals, with 10 of those losses in British Columbia.
Some of the flipped seats are in ridings with redrawn boundaries. To determine whether a riding flipped, The Globe and Mail looked at whether a sitting MP prior to redistribution was seeking re-election. In cases where there was no incumbent, the incumbent was considered to be the party that controlled the old riding comprising the largest percentage of the population in the new riding.
Here are five notable ridings that flipped.
South Shore–St. Margarets, N.S.
Jessica Fancy-Landry was acclaimed the Liberal candidate in this Nova Scotia riding in January when the party was still riding low in the polls – and rode the swing in voter opinion all the way to victory over Conservative incumbent MP Rick Perkins. Mr. Perkins, who was an outspoken critic of the Liberals’ handling of the Indigenous lobster fishing dispute, had previously unseated fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan. Missing from the race this time was the NDP, which had 19 per cent of the vote in 2021, after its candidate dropped out at the last minute.
Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, Que.
Liberal gains in Quebec were a big story on election night, and Linda Lapointe’s victory in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles over incumbent Luc Desilets of the Bloc Québécois was part of that trend. Across the province, the Donald Trump effect was powerful – with Bloc candidates saying voters told them they were worried about U.S. tariffs and wanted a strong Liberal delegation to stand up for Canada.
Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill, Ont.
Conservative candidate Costas Menegakis took this Ontario riding from the Liberals, defeating incumbent Leah Taylor Roy. Despite a late campaign stop by Liberal Leader Mark Carney, the seat was among the gains made in suburban Ontario by the Tories, who focused on “bread and butter” issues such as affordability and concerns about crime, Mr. Menegakis said.
Elmwood–Transcona, Man.
Conservative Colin Reynolds won this Winnipeg-area riding, defeating incumbent MP Leila Dance in what has traditionally been an NDP stronghold while the New Democrats were sidelined in a two-horse race nationally. Ms. Dance narrowly beat Mr. Reynolds here in a September, 2024, by-election to replace NDP MP Daniel Blaikie.
Victoria, B.C.
The Liberals broke the NDP’s 20-year grip on Victoria Monday night when Will Greaves defeated incumbent MP Laurel Collins. Ms. Collins told her supporters she had heard at the door that people wanted to vote NDP but felt afraid with Mr. Trump in the White House. Similar stories played out across B.C., including in Burnaby Central, where NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was unseated in his own riding.