After a grueling 37-day federal election campaign, Canadians are getting the chance to have their voices heard Monday and CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca has results from across the region and reactions from the winners here. Polls closed in Ontario at 9:30 p.m. EDT. First northern Ontario candidate declared The first federal election winner declared in northern Ontario by CTV News is Conservative Jim Belanger for the newly-formed Sudbury East - Manitoulin - Nickel Belt riding. In an upset, Belanger unseated Liberal incumbent Marc Serré. The riding was called at 11:14 p.m. with 10,518 votes, more than 2,800 votes ahead of Serré, who served three terms for the former Nickel Belt riding. Northern Ontario went blue and red with five Liberal seats and four Conservative seats. The NDP lost its two seats in the region as support for the party collapsed across the country. Six incumbents are headed back to Ottawa: Eric Melillo and Scott Aitchison for the Conservatives and Terry Sheehan, Viviane Lapointe, Marcus Powlowski and Patty Hadju for the Liberals. Three new faces are headed to the House of Commons: Gaetan Malette, Pauline Rochefort and Jim Belanger. Candidate watch parties CTV News Sudbury reporter Alana Everson is at Nickel Belt Liberal incumbent Marc Serré’s office in the Greater Sudbury community of Val Caron. He is running for the newly-formed Sudbury East - Manitoulin - Nickel Belt riding. Serré is joined by about 40 supporters at his campaign office and is awaiting the results. Approximately 100 volunteers worked on Serré’s campaign, his campaign manager Nathan Bowles said. CTV News Sudbury reporter Ian Campbell is at Sudbury Liberal incumbent Viviane Lapointe’s campaign office at the Days Inn on Brady Street. Around 50 people are at Lapointe’s watch party, including the former police chief, Campbell said shortly after the polls closed. CTV News Sault Ste. Marie reporter Cory Nordstrom is with the Liberal incumbent Terry Sheehan’s campaign at the Grand Theatre on Queen Street. Roughly 15 people were in attendance when the Ontario polls closed. Sheehan is hoping to hang onto his seat in the riding that now includes the rest of the Algoma District. CTV News North Bay reporter Eric Taschner is at the watch party for the Nipissing - Timiskaming Liberal candidate Pauline Rochefort at the Granite Club. Taschner said around 30 people are in attendance. She is trying to maintain her party’s seat in the House of Commons after MP Anthony Rota announced he would not be seeking re-election. CTV News Timmins reporter Lydia Chubak said there is a great vibe at the watch party for Conservative candidate Gaetan Malette at the Porcupine Dante Club. “The crowd is as close to the TV as possible watching results coming in on CTV,” Chubak said. More details to come as results come in. Sudbury voter concerns We spoke to some Sudbury voters on election day about their biggest concerns right now. “My top issue is the fact that I am in my late 20s and I cannot afford to buy a house because I am too busy spending all my money on rent and overly priced groceries,” a Sudbury woman said outside of the Caruso Club on Monday. “It’s very important that we need someone who is going to save Canada cause Canada right now needs help. We are falling apart it’s not a safe and happy environment to live in anymore,” another Sudbury woman said. “I would like to see the old age pension checked for seniors because they have a hard time living,” a Sudbury man said. “For me, political stability and trustworthiness of the candidate is very important,” another man said. “The cost of living and Donald Trump there, with his wanting to make us the 51st state,” a Sudbury woman said. With files from CTV News Sudbury reporter Alana Everson Advanced poll results Voters turned out in record numbers at the four-day advance polls over Easter weekend. The highest percentage of advanced votes was in the Sudbury riding with 25.2 per cent of eligible ballots cast. The average across all nine ridings in northern Ontario was 22.5 per cent. Preliminary voter turnout As of Tuesday morning, the preliminary voter turnout for northern Ontario was 59.1 per cent. The highest turnout in the north was in the Parry Sound - Muskoka riding with 70 per cent. The Kenora-Kiiwetinoong riding had the lowest voter turnout with 57.7 per cent. Northern Ontario Ridings **Newly-formed ridings after a 2023 redistribution of boundaries Standings at dissolution Northern Ontario had 10 seats in the last federal election in 2021, two Conservative seats, two NDP seats and six Liberal seats. The riding boundaries changed in 2023 and now the region only gets nine seats. Here is where the northern Ontario ridings stood at dissolution of the last Parliament: Conservatives Liberals NDP
