AZILDA—With his election victory on Monday, Jim Belanger of Azilda has become the first federal Member of Parliament for the new Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt riding, and the first Conservative MP to represent Manitoulin since 1935.
With 253 of 259 polls having been reported Monday evening, Mr. Belanger had received 26,839 votes, while Liberal incumbent Marc Serré, who held the old Nickel Belt riding for a decade, received 23,647 votes. Andréane Chénier of the NDP received 4,709. Mr. Belanger, who had been leading throughout the vote count, was declared the winner at that time.
Manitoulin Island had originally been part of the Algoma riding, then the Algoma East riding, and became part of the new Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing (AMK) riding in 2004 until redistribution placed Manitoulin Island in the new Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt riding effective with this election. The riding name changed in 1996 from Algoma East to Algoma-Manitoulin and stayed that way until the 2004 redistribution placed the Island in AMK riding.
Manitoulin had been represented by a Liberal from 1935 until 16-and-a-half years ago when Carol Hughes won the riding for the NDP. Ms. Hughes retired from her position as of this election.
The last Conservative MP representing Manitoulin (when the Island was part of the old Algoma East Riding) was George Nicholson who held the riding from 1930-1935 when he lost to local Liberal Thomas Farquhar.
Mr. Farquhar served as MP until 1948 when he stepped down to allow Lester B. (Mike) Pearson to leave the federal civil service and enter the political side. Mr. Farquhar was named a senator and served in that office until his death in 1962.
Mr. Pearson became the Liberal leader in 1958 and was the Prime Minister, overseeing two minority governments, from 1962 to 1968, when he retired and the Algoma-East Liberal nomination went to Dr. Maurice Foster who was MP for 25 years. He was succeeded by Brent St. Denis who was the last Liberal MP in that long run that began in 1935.
The federal election saw Mark Carney and his Liberal government win the election, with a minority government.
Mr. Belanger’s victory for Sudbury-East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt means that in Northeastern Ontario, three Conservatives won their ridings, with Liberal candidates taking the other three ridings.
In Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk, where the NDP’s Charlie Angus had been the previous leader until his retirement leading up to this election, Conservative candidate Gaetan Malette was elected. Incumbent (Conservative) Scott Aitchison won Monday’s election in Parry Sound-Muskoka riding.
In the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding, newcomer Liberal Pauline Rochefort won the election, while in the Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma riding, incumbent Terry Sheehan of the Liberal party won in a close race over Conservative candidate Hugh Stevenson. In Sudbury, Liberal incumbent Viviane Lapointe won her re-election bid, outdistancing Conservative Ian Symington in his second run against Ms. Lapointe.
With his election, Mr. Belanger also becomes the first Conservative to be elected at either the provincial or federal level in the Sudbury area since Jim Gordon was elected Sudbury MPP in 1981.
Mr. Belanger said in his victory speech on Monday that his election win, “is going to change my world, my family’s world too. I will work every single day for this riding. I hope politics won’t change me. The win really hasn’t hit me yet. I am excited.”
Mr. Belanger, 66, is well known in Azilda, with his family settling there in 1886 as pioneers. He attended the University of Ottawa, pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He has worked in the mining industry, logging, agriculture and is currently self-employed in the fuel sector.
