‘This re-election means that we can continue to build, and I know that there’s so much more that needs to be done.’
Chants, cheers and claps accompanied returning MPP Lucille Collard as she walked across the stage a second time after victory in Ottawa-Vanier, a riding that has belonged to the Liberal party since 1971.
“This re-election means that we can continue to build, and I know that there’s so much more that needs to be done,” Collard said to her supporters.
Collard’s electoral win marks 54 years of Liberal leadership in Ottawa-Vanier.
She won by an overwhelming margin with 21,164 votes and more than 51 per cent of the riding’s votes. The Progressive Conservative candidate, Marilissa Gosselin, came in second place with only 9,263 votes.
“I am very, very happy with the campaign I ran,” Collard said.
When asked by this newspaper what she would do differently this term, Collard said she wanted to continue working collaboratively with other elected officials and different levels of government. In her first day as returning MPP for Ottawa-Vanier, Collard said she wanted to reflect on “her priorities”, which included health care, housing and the education system.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in life, health care is an important issue,” Collard said.
Jean Proulx, Collard’s campaign manager, said he felt very gratified and happy after the win. Their goal was to improve on their margin of victory over the previous election, and it increased by 10 per cent.
“Our riding is perceived as a safe riding for the Liberal party,” Proulx said. “I’m very pleased about that, very grateful for the voters.”
Proulx said it was challenging campaigning for an election during the winter. He said it was difficult getting volunteers to come out and campaign.
Evening Update
“They didn’t want to go out in the cold or in the snow,” Proulx said.
Sarah Healey, a third-year University of Ottawa student and campaign volunteer, said it was her first time voting in a provincial election. The last provincial election was held in June 2022.
“I am very happy with the outcome for this area,” Healey said.
Healey, 21, said Collard’s platform on providing accessible and affordable health care was what appealed to her the most.
“I have so much trouble finding a family doctor and getting health care when I need it on campus,” Healey said. “She’s a good Liberal candidate to help the Liberal party.”
Finishing third on the night was NDP candidate Myriam Djilane with 7,476 votes, but that didn’t dampen her spirits.
The Nelson was crowded with NDP party volunteers for Djilane’s campaign in a riding that has the Liberals have owned for decades.
Despite the results, the atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive with ambitions aimed at making up ground for the party. Djilane was cracking jokes and smiling with her team throughout the night.
In her speech to her campaign team at The Nelson on Laurier Avenue, Djilane said the result was more the reason to hold Collard accountable as returning MPP.
“I’ll start out with congratulating Lucille Collard,” Djilane said. “But I think that everybody in the group knows that we will be holding her feet to the fire.”
Despite running what campaign manager Eric Cherpit considered a “strong campaign” within the short, 28-day election period, he conceded the riding is typically a “Liberal stronghold” where victory was a highly unlikely scenario.
“It’s one that I think should definitely be an NDP riding,” Cherpit said.
As she wrapped up her speech, Djilane turned the focus to Tristan Oliff, the NDP federal candidate in Ottawa-Vanier. Djilane’s campaign laid the groundwork for Oliff’s campaign, likely to take place when Parliament returns from prorogation on March 24.
“Myriam and I are both young candidates,” Oliff said. “The energy that has been around Myriam’s campaign, that’s going to be around our federal campaign.”
Djilane was emotional through her speech, expressing appreciation for everybody who has worked so hard throughout the campaign.
“I feel an incredible amount of gratitude, and I don’t think those feelings are ever going to go away even if I run five more times,” Djilane said.
Ottawa-Vanier covers a large portion of core and eastern Ottawa, and extends to the Greenbelt. The riding’s boundaries run roughly west of the Rideau Canal with the Ottawa River to the north and Highway 417-174 forming its southern boundary. The riding includes an irregular section near the highway split extending down past Innes Road and including the Pineview neighbourhood, while the riding’s eastern edge follows Green’s Creek.
The riding includes a diverse scope of urban neighbourhoods, from Lowertown and Sandy Hill in the west to New Edinburgh, Rockcliffe Park, Vanier, Overbrook and other neighbourhoods further east, out to Beacon Hill.
Within its boundaries are the University of Ottawa, surrounding student neighbourhoods and Collège La Cité, the ByWard Market business and entertainment district, the Montfort and Bruyère hospitals, and a long stretch of the Rideau River as well as the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway corridor.
Ottawa-Vanier’s land area covers 39 square kilometres.
Collard has held the seat since a 2020 byelection.
Collard had said before the election she hoped to continue to serve the people of Ottawa-Vanier by bringing “people together to find innovative solutions to the public health-care system, homelessness and affordable housing.”
Djilane had focused her campaign on housing, the cost of living, health care, French services and student debt.
“Health care should be there when we need it, not locked behind waitlists, understaffing or privatization,” she said.
The Progressive Conservatives’ Gosselin has been a senior policy adviser to Doug Ford on francophone affairs. She ran in the 2011 provincial riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, but ultimately lost to Liberal Grant Crack. Her platform had a focus on health care and education.
Christian Proulx was the candidate for the Green party. Proulx ran for the federal seat in the 2021 election and ran provincially in 2022.
He said his platform was “about building a more sustainable, inclusive and affordable society and communities.”
Also on the ballot were Rishabh Bhatia for the New Blue Party and the Libertarians’ Coreen Corcoran, who had previously run for the party both federally and provincially.
— With files from Robyn Best, staff reporter
