Bruce Fanjoy’s election party ended at 2 a.m. when supporters were kicked out of the Manotick Legion.
The real party presumably started sometime after 4 a.m. local time, location unknown, when his victory over
Pierre Poilievre
was declared.
It’s a stunning upset for the first-time Liberal candidate who won the Carleton riding over current Conservative Party leader and seven-time MP.
It was the latest twist in an election that has been characterized by crazy turns and role reversals — including the
longest ballot fiasco
that significantly delayed the election night vote count.
During
Mark Carney
‘s victory speech, the prime minister said he was looking forward to working with his fellow Liberal MPs.
“Bruce!” someone shouted from the stands.
“Yes, I’m really looking forward to working with Bruce Fanjoy,” Carney smirked.
At the Manotick Legion (next to Poilievre’s campaign office) Fanjoy’s volunteers and supporters started to gather before polls closed.
When the early numbers suggested Fanjoy was in the lead, cheers erupted.
The Liberal candidate appeared for a short appearance before midnight, when the win was far from solidified.
“My heart is filled with gratitude,” he said.
“I will never forget what this feels like. This doesn’t happen without you.”
Fanjoy, a father of two children, gained momentum after reports emerged of a tightening race in the riding between the Conservative and Liberal parties.
He went door-to-door promising to be more available in the riding to constituents. He said he’d help farmers and businesses cut energy costs by deploying some of the same technology he used to build his eco-friendly Manotick home that consumes up to 90 per cent less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings. He spoke to locals who feared Conservatives would trim the size of public service.
He also ran on defeating Poilievre and protecting Canadian sovereignty amidst the tariff war with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I always believed there was a path to victory in Carleton,” Fanjoy said in an
interview with the Ottawa Citizen
. “I’m just so thankful for all the people who have joined me on this journey.”
With all but two polls reporting, at 4:47 a.m., Fanjoy was ahead by 3,793 votes over Poilievre.
Poilievre had held the Carleton seat since 2004, making the riding a Conservative strong-hold for 21 years. He is the first Conservative leader to fail to win his seat since Kim Campbell in 1993.
June and Bob Neske, two dedicated volunteers with Fanjoy’s campaign and former Conservative voters, said they began knocking on doors for Fanjoy after Carney won the Liberal leadership and focused on economic policy as one of his main concerns.
“If Bruce wins, I’m going to cry,” Bob said. “We were more or less resigned to Pierre Poilievre.
“It really swung to the point where we realized that we can win this riding.”
When the sun was still up on Monday, on a bizarrely warm April day, Conservative volunteers were out around the riding holding up signs to “vote for change.”
But Bob said many residents in the Carleton riding were looking for a change in representation, an ironic contradiction to Poilievre’s campaign on change.
“There’s so many people like me who have always been Conservatives and they’ve told us at the door they won’t vote for Pierre this time,” Bob said.
June said volunteers have placed hundreds of hours into canvassing for Fanjoy, especially in the final days leading to election day.
“Every blister, every sore, everything, it’ll be worth it,” she said.
Fanjoy said he was grateful for the “remarkable efforts” of the hundreds of volunteers that have shown up for him, which has lifted his spirits since he started campaigning in 2023.
