Carol Hughes of the NDP is back in as the MP for Algoma Manitoulin Kapuskasing. At 16,569 Hughes had 2,458 more votes than her closest rival, Heather Wilson of the Liberals. Wilson ended the night with 14,111 votes. Earlier in the night, the race was much closer and the incumbent MP admits it was a nail-biter but adds nothing was taken for granted. The win for the NDP MP is bitter sweet because nationally, the NDP were relegated back to third party status. However Hughes doesn’t believe her approach in the House of Commons will change even though she and her NDP colleagues are no longer the Official Opposition. With the Liberals forming a majority government and in control for the next four years, Hughes is hoping they’ll be easier to deal with than the Conservatives were. She says the Tories were a divisive and fear-mongering party. Hughes captured 40 percent of the vote compared to 34 percent for Wilson. Conservative candidate Andre Robichaud got 24 percent support while Green Party candidate Calvin John Orok had about two percent support. Voter turnout was 66 percent among eligible voters. That’s a big increase from the 2011 election in the riding when only about half the eligible voters cast a ballot.
