Liberals, Bloc win byelections, May finishes 2nd

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | 9:32 AM ET

CBC News

Leader Elizabeth May failed to become the first Green Party member of Parliament during an Ontario byelection Monday night, losing out to Liberal candidate Glen Pearson.

But May had a strong showing, finishing second in the polls and taking roughly five times the vote that the Green Party got last January.

Party standings after the two byelections on Monday.
(CBC)

Pearson had nearly 35 per cent of the vote, followed by May with 26 per cent and Tory Dianne Haskett, the former London mayor, with 24 per cent.

May, a well-known environmental activist born in the United States, said the results showed the "progress and momentum" of a "party on the move."

"Winning is the wild hope of the incurable optimist … [but] doing well here is a victory," said May.

The London North Centre riding has belonged to the Liberals for 18 years. A byelection was called after Liberal MP Joe Fontana quit federal politics last spring to run in a failed mayoral bid.

Pearson, a fire captain, food bank director and human rights worker, said his victory showed that the Liberals have won back the voters' trust.

"This Liberal party is ready, once again, to assume the proper role that it takes on of a giant tent that includes all sorts of people," he said.

The Greens drew votes from all parties as they were the only party to increase their support since the last election.

The Liberals and Conservatives dropped five and six percentage points respectively since the January election.

NDP candidate Megan Walker received only 14 per cent of the vote in Monday night's byelecton, a 10-point drop from the last election.

Bloc win

Meanwhile, Bloc Québécois candidate Rev. Raymond Gravel handily won in the other byelection held in Repentigny, Que., a suburban riding just north of Montreal.

Gravel received 66 per cent of the vote, followed by Tory Stephane Bourgon with nearly 19 per cent and  NDP Rejean Bellemare with seven per cent.

Liberal candidate Christian Turenne finished fourth with six per cent of the vote.

The riding has been a Bloc stronghold for the last two elections. The Repentigny seat became vacant when Bloc MP Benoît Sauvageau died in a car accident in August.

Much media attention in the byelections has focused on Gravel, who was a teenage prostitute before becoming a Roman Catholic priest. He stepped down from his ecclesiastical duties at a Repentigny parish in order to run for office.

The results of the two byelections mean that the Conservatives have 124 seats in the House, followed by the Liberals (102), Bloc (51) and NDP (29). There are two Independents.