UPDATED (October 20, 2015 – 1:15 am) Liberal candidate Catherine McKenna rose to victory in the Ottawa Centre riding, narrowly defeating the incumbent NDP candidate Paul Dewar, and closely shadowing the federal outcome as Justin Trudeau won a majority government.
McKenna’s victory was unexpected, as it was predicted to be a close race between her and Dewar, who has led the district through its last three terms.
McKenna held her post-election celebration at the Clocktower Brew Pub in Westboro, where supporters decked out in red shirts and party pins, anxiously awaited McKenna’s arrival long before the results were announced.
When CBC News officially announced that McKenna had won the district, the crowd broke out in its out rendition of Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration.”
“Politics is about people having conversations about the issues that they care about and we did that together,” said McKenna. “We had so many conversations with so many people about the amazing possibilities for Ottawa Centre and our country and that really matters.”
McKenna’s victory speech could barely be heard over the enthusiastic cheering of her supporters, numbering a hundred or more.
“We showed everyone that politics matters and we showed everyone that better is possible.”